Controlling the Trafficking of Key Regulators of Cancer Cell Invasion (ENS, Paris, France).

Organisation/Company Ecole Normale Supérieure Research Field Biological sciences Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Postdoc Positions Application Deadline 1 Sep 2026 - 23:59 (Africa/Abidjan) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Key words: biomolecular condensates, organelles, cancer cells

Our lab is looking for a post-doc/research engineer to develop and use novel tools for studying the role of intracellular organization and endomembrane trafficking in the early steps driving cancer cell invasion . Our laboratoryis a highly-collaborative environment with state-of-the-art facilities and expertise in biophysics, cell biology and synthetic biology. The candidate will benefit from a multidisciplinary environment in the lab where biologists, chemists and biophysicists collaborate together. In particular, we will benefit from a collaboration with the team of Philippe Chavrier (Institut Curie) expert in cancer cell biology. Located in the heart of Paris, our laboratories benefit from an exceptionally rich academic environment, also provided by the proximity of internationally recognized research institutes (ENS, Curie Institute, College de France…).

Profile: The applicant should hold a PhD in Cell Biophysics or Cell Biology and show strong interest for interdisciplinary and collaborative works.

Scientific Project: During escape from a primary tumour, cancer cells remodel the extracellular matrix to create paths for invasion through invadopodia, specialized actin-rich structures with matrix-degrading activity (1). Invadopodia function depends on the precise spatial and temporal coordination of intracellular trafficking pathways, which deliver and regulate key matrix-remodeling factors. However, dissecting these dynamic processes requires tools that enable rapid, reversible, and localized control of biomolecule and organelle accessibility. To address this challenge, we are developing specific tools that allow the reversible trapping of organelles to selectively perturb specific cellular functions (2). We will apply these tools to reversibly control the trafficking and activity of key regulators of invadopodia-mediated matrix remodeling.

Expected start date: October-December 2026. Applications (curriculum vitae, statement of research interests, and contact information of 2 references) should be addressed to:

References:

1. MT1-MMP directs force-producing proteolytic contacts that drive tumor cell invasion

2. Controlling lipid droplet dynamics via tether condensates

Amari C, Simon D, Bellon T, Plamont MA, Thiam AR, and Gueroui Z