Post-doctoral position (F/M)

Job description

 Laboratory

The research group DNA repair mechanisms in cancers (Ceccaldi Lab, https://institut-curie.org/team/ceccaldi) is seeking a post-doctoral researcher driving cutting-edge research projects aiming at understanding the mechanisms regulating genome stability.

 In the recent years, our team significant contributions to the field of genome stability and tumor biology. Focusing on compensatory mechanisms employed by cancer cells with defects in homologous recombination (HR)-mediated repair, we shed light on new mechanisms and pathways controlling genome stability and Homologous Recombination (HR)-deficient tumor survival.

From a translational point of view, our group has identified (and developed inhibitors against) new drug targets for the treatment of breast and ovarian tumors target and highlighted the importance of studying the relationships between the different DNA repair pathways to better understand their interaction and exploit them for therapeutic purposes. Our long-term research goals hinge on the critical need for 1) new scientific approaches to discover additional regulators and effectors of genome stability, 2) basic understanding of interconnections between DNA repair processes, and 3) new drug development and biomarkers for anticancer targeted therapy.

Missions

Our team is committed to developing innovative strategies to combat breast and ovarian cancers. Through high-throughput screening, we have identified small-molecule inhibitors targeting novel anti-cancer drug targets. We are now seeking a postdoctoral researcher to further develop these compounds and assess their antitumor efficacy in both in vitro and in vivo models, including organoids and patient-derived xenografts.

The successful candidate will benefit from access to a comprehensive collection of preclinical models established at Institut Curie. In addition, they will collaborate with chemists to optimize the inhibitor molecules and with crystallographers to uncover their mechanisms of action through co-crystallization studies.

Recent publications from the team

1. Ceccaldi R and Cejka P. Mechanisms and regulation of DNA End Resection in the Maintenance of Genome Stability. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 2025.

2. Musiani, D. et al. SMUG1 trapping at unprocessed uracil upon UNG inhibition triggers homologous recombination and selectively kills BRCA1/2-deficient tumors. Molecular Cell, 2025.

3. Kovacs, M. T. et al. DNA damage induces nuclear envelope rupture through ATR-mediated phosphorylation of lamin A/C. Molecular Cell, 2023.

4. Gelot, C. et al. Polθ is phosphorylated by PLK1 to repair double-strand breaks in mitosis. Nature, 2023.

5. Zhou, J. et al. A first-in-class Polymerase Theta Inhibitor selectively targets Homologous-Recombination-Deficient Tumors. Nature Cancer, 2021.