Postdoctoral position in the Meylan Lab – The tumor immune compartment and tumor-associated neutrophils in mouse models of malignant mesothelioma

Lab’s interests
The research program of the laboratory is on the immuno-metabolic control of lung malignancies, with
a focus on intercellular communication systems and tumor-associated neutrophils. Using a
combination of in vitro cell cultures, genetically-engineered mouse models, bioinformatics as well as
patient-derived tumor tissue sections, we hope our research will contribute better, knowledge-based
treatments of patients in a near future.

In 2021 our group relocated from EPFL (Switzerland) to ULB (Belgium). Currently composed of 7-8
staff, it is strategically located on two complementary research sites, (1) the Institut Bordet (Erasme
campus, Brussels) that offers immediate proximity to clinical oncologists and access to precious tumor
samples, and (2) the Laboratory of Immunobiology (Gosselies campus) that comprises multiple
immunology groups and state-of-the-art facilities, together providing excellent conditions for research
on cancer immunobiology. The postdoc, although expected to be located mostly on the Gosselies site,
will benefit from both locations for research and interactions.

Project
Building from our recent results mostly obtained in the study of lung adenocarcinoma (CellRep 2017,
NatCom 2020, CanRes 2021), in this research project we want (1) to generate new geneticallyengineered
mouse models of malignant mesothelioma, (2) to analyze the immune signature and
characterize functionally the cells of innate immunity, particularly neutrophils, in this devastating
malignancy. Mouse-to-human validations will be performed on human tumor tissues. The results of
this project should enable a better understanding and comparison of molecular subtypes of
mesothelioma; they should also provide insight into the role played by innate immune cells and their
communication with tumor cells and with non-malignant cells of the tumor microenvironment, and
may offer perspectives for new clinical development.