PhD Studentship: Antiviral immunity in the testis

Available for a period of 3 years at INSERM U1085-IRSET, University of Rennes (France). Funding: Rennes I University.

Starting date: October 2018.

Project

Viral infection of the testis can have a number of deleterious consequences including infertility caused by the inflammation of the organ in response to the infection (e.g. mumps virus infection). Infection of the male genital tract also represents a population-wide threat, semen being an important vector for the spread of viruses. Of concern, the sexual transmission and persistence in semen of emerging viruses (e.g. Zika virus) was recently reported. Our recent data indicate a tropism of Zika virus for the human testis. The aim of this thesis project is to better understand the molecular mechanisms of viral persistence and inflammation in the human testis. The successful candidate will perform original research using unique organotypic culture of human tissue developed in the laboratory, which will be infected ex vivo. The organ innate immune response will be deciphered using single cell transcriptomic analysis, in situ hybridization, luminex, flow cytometry and siRNA/CRISPR/CAS9 extinction in primary cell culture.

Your Profile

• Master 2 degree in Virology, Immunology or Cellular and Molecular Biology, obtained in 2018. For your application to be considered, you need to be ranked among the top third of your Master 2.
• Skills and knowledge in cell culture, in primary cell/organ culture, molecular biology and virology are necessary. The candidate should master at least part of the techniques mentioned above. Previous experience in a security lab L2/L3 will be a bonus.
• We seek a highly motivated and talented PhD student. The candidate should be creative and capable of developing a competitive research project while working in autonomy under the supervision of a team leader.

The selected candidates will hold a competitive oral presentation in front of Biology-Health doctoral school jury on the 28-29 June 2018 (video conference possible).

Application deadline for pre-selection is 13 May 2018.