We offer an exciting PhD project for the INPhINIT PhD fellowships programme from “La Caixa” Foundation. The phylosophy of the programme is the attraction of outstanding students of any nationality for a PhD in Spain or Portugal, offering them an integral formative programme in centres of research excellence.

The candidate will join a young and vibrant research group devoted to the study of pancreatic cancer metabolism, focusing on CSC-targeting therapeutic strategies. The present project involves the study of the role of lipid storage and mobilization for CSCs adaptation to the changing and challenging conditions characteristic of tumor progression and metastasis. We aim to analyze the specific role of lipid uptake, storage and mobilization for tumor progression in order to identify and validate the most effective and readily translatable CSC-targeting strategies. For that purpose, the candidate will work with PDAC patient-derived material from solid and liquid biopsies both in vitro and in vivo.

The candidate will use a broad range of cellular and molecular biology techniques, including 3D cultures of tumor-derived cells, co-culture with stromal cells, isolation of rare subpopulations by FACS sorting and metabolic/metabolomics assays, as well as in vivo experiments involving tumorigenicity and metastasis assays. We are currently collaborating with 2 different groups located in the UK, so opportunities for short stages in those labs will be available during the completion of the PhD.

Desired skills of the candidates are: MSc in any Biomedicine-related discipline, knowledge of basic cellular and molecular techniques, knowledge of cellular metabolism, and experience in cancer research.