UNIL is a leading international teaching and research institution, with over 5,000 employees and 17,000 students split between its Dorigny campus, CHUV and Epalinges. As an employer, UNIL encourages excellence, individual recognition and responsibility.

The group of Prof. Alexis Jourdain at the University of Lausanne invites applications for a postdoc position. We are a dynamic team of international researchers composed of 3 postdocs, 3 PhD students, 1 master student and 2 technicians. The expertise present at the Department of Immunobiology and the University of Lausanne, as well as our ongoing collaborations with laboratories at the University of Geneva, CHUV and EPFL, offers an ideal place for a postdoc to thrive. The spoken language in the team and the department is English.

Project: Nucleotide metabolism in physiology and cancer. This in vivo project, funded by the Swiss Cancer League, directly builds on our recent publication on the role of uridine in physiology and cancer (Skinner et al., Nature Metabolism 2023; see also the accompanying paper by Nwosu et al., Nature 2023). We discovered that uridine and RNA can support glycolysis when glucose is scarce. Uridine is highly abundant in our diet and is the most prevalent nucleoside in circulation, as well as in the tumor microenvironment, where glucose is often limited (see our recent review by Strefeler et al., Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism 2024). Certain cancers, such as melanoma, glioma, and pancreatic cancer, depend on uridine for development, making uridine catabolism an attractive pharmacological target in cancer metabolism.

We have recently generated two knockout mouse models with partial impairment in uridine catabolism and identified inhibitors of uridine catabolism in cell culture. This project aims to:

• Cross and characterize these mouse models in terms of physiology, in cancer development and anti-cancer immunity in vivo.
• Further evaluate the inhibitors in vitro and as potential cancer treatments in vivo.

Prerequisites: Experience with mouse models, experience with cancer models is a strong plus.

IMPORTANT: Please send your full application in PDF format with a cover letter briefly describing your previous work and publications, why you think you are a good candidate for this project, and how it fits in your career plan.

www.jourdainlab.org

What the position offers you

We offer a nice working place in a multicultural, diverse and dynamic academic environment. Opportunities for professional training, a lot of activities and other benefits to discover.

Deadline: 01.03.2025

We thank you for your understanding.