Vacancy: PhD student in cancer research @ CBIGR lab (CRIG - UGent)


The lab for Computational Biology, Integromics and Gene Regulation – CBIGR – of prof. Vanessa Vermeirssen is looking for a PhD candidate to join the team on single cell multi-omics glioblastoma research.

Glioblastoma remains an aggressive, lethal, hard-to-cure brain tumor. Accumulating evidence points to extensive tumor heterogeneity, as well as plasticity in response to therapy, leading to therapy failure. At the single cell level, this presents with different cell states that can transition into one another upon specific environmental conditions or treatment. A comprehensive understanding of the molecular and regulatory mechanisms underlying therapy-induced plasticity in glioblastoma patients is indispensable for the development of novel, more effective and less toxic treatment modalities. This PhD project is embedded in the context of an interuniversity ‘Stichting Tegen Kanker’ project that aims to unravel the molecular mechanisms of radiation-induced tumor cell plasticity at single cell resolution.

The lab for Computational Biology, Integromics and Gene Regulation focuses on acquiring a functional understanding of gene regulation and signalling towards personalized medicine, using statistics, bioinformatics and machine learning, as well as high-throughput biology in the framework of gene regulatory networks. The final goal is to use this knowledge in the development of novel preventive or therapeutic strategies for successful personal healthcare.