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Postdoctoral position in Molecular Biology and Microfluidics
Non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 21 based on circulating trophoblastic cells
CBI - ESPCI Paris
LBC Team - Pr Andrew Griffiths
LCMD Team – Pr Jean Baudry
ESPCI Paris
ESPCI Paris is a major institution of higher education (a French "Grande École d’ingénieurs"), an internationally renowned research centre (6 Nobel Prizes), and a fertile ground of innovation for industry (3 start-ups created/year). ESPCI is a highly multidisciplinary environment with teaching and research in physics, chemistry and biology.
CBI laboratory
The institute for Chemistry Biology and Innovation (CBI) is a new laboratory gathering 5 teams having a common aim for scientific creation and technological innovation at the interface between chemistry and biology. The teams “Colloïdes et Matériaux Divisés” (LCMD) and “BioChemistry” (LBC) have especially developed droplet-based microfluidic methods that enable massively parallel characterization of cells, for fundamental and applied research in directed evolution, immunology and cancer diagnostics. The institute has a proven experience in successfully transferring their scientific results into successful start-ups : 10 start-ups, including Capsum, Kapsera and HiFiBiO Therapeutics.
Research Project :
Down syndrome or trisomy 21 is one of the most common birth defect, caused by a triplicated chromosome 21. To date, amniocentesis is the only 100% reliable test to detect fetal chromosomal abnormalities, but presents safety concerns.
The ambition of this project is to propose a reliable noninvasive prenatal diagnostic based on rare fetal circulating cells : we will capture these cells based on their size from the mother’s blood, using a validated technology (ISET), and then encapsulate these cells with one cell per droplet, at most, using droplet microfluidics. We will release their DNA in the drops, and use fluorescent painting of chromosome 21 to count the number of chromosomes per drop (and hence per cell).
By coupling rare cell enrichment and digital analysis of their chromosomic content, we should obtain a simple and reliable characterization of fetal aneuploidy.
The project involve two groups, the CBI laboratory and the team of Pr. Paterlini-Bréchot at Necker Hospital campus.
Postdoc mission
The role of the postdoc will be to develop and to validate the molecular tools to count the chromosomes in the droplets.
Requirements
We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoc, ideally with a strong experience in Molecular Biology. The candidate should be interested in learning how to use microfluidic systems. Flexibility, autonomy, the ability to work in a highly multidisciplinary team and good interpersonal skills are essential.
Job package
We offer an exciting and collaborative work environment at the forefront of biology, chemistry and physics research with top academic and industrial partners.
Starting date : March 2022
Duration : 1 year (renewable)
Salary : according to professional experience
Address your applications (CV + cover letter) to :
Dr. Jean BAUDRY (jean.baudry@espci.fr) and Prof. Andrew GRIFFITHS (job-lbc@espci.fr )
ESPCI Paris – CBI Laboratory
10 Rue Vauquelin
75005 Paris