Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Laboratory of Cilia Genetics and Pathology
Open PhD positions
Project: Cilia function in cell signaling and differentiation
Supervisor
Martina Huranová
Project description
Primary cilia are thin structures present in most mammalian cells, involved in regulation of multiple developmental signaling pathways. Monitoring signaling pathways and their responses in vivo presents challenges due to the complexity of pathways and the need for highly sensitive and specific reporter tools.
Within this project we will focus on establishing novel methodologies for studying cilia associated signalling in organogenesis, with potential applications in drug discovery and disease modelling. The applicant will developing methods to monitor the activity of ciliary signaling pathways, such as Sonic Hedgehog and Wnt. These tools will be employed to study the signalling dynamics in cell cultures and organoid models using advanced live-cell imaging techniques. We will employ transcriptomic and proteomic analyses in healthy and ciliopathy conditions to uncover the regulatory mechanisms governed by cilia-mediated signalling. Finally, we will investigate the potential of these tools in screening biological agents to identify compounds that modulate cilia-associated signaling in pathological conditions where ciliary function is impaired, such as ciliopathies or cancer.
Candidate profile
We are looking for an ethusiastic, curious and fearlessstudent with experience in cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry or a related field who is motivated to work on a project with biological and medicinal relevance.
We offer a friendly and supporting environment, and excellent infrastructures at the Institute of Molecular Genetics. We are a young research group, where the students learn to lead a scientific project and accomplish the PhD studies within four to five years. We encourage the candidates to contact the supervisor directly (martina.huranova@img.cas.cz).
Suggested reading
Niederlova V, Modrak M, Tsyklauri O, Huranova M, Stepanek O: Meta-analysis of genotype-phenotype associations in Bardet-Biedl syndrome uncovers differences among causative genes. Hum Mutat 2019 40(11): 2068-2087. [pubmed] [doi] [dataBBaSe]
Prasai A, Schmidt Cernohorska M, Ruppova K, Niederlova V, Andelova M, Draber P, Stepanek O, Huranova M: The BBSome assembly is spatially controlled by BBS1 and BBS4 in human cells. J Biol Chem 2020 295(42): 14279-14290. [pubmed] [doi]
Tsyklauri O, Niederlova V, Forsythe E, Prasai A, Drobek A, Kasparek P, Sparks K, Trachtulec Z, Prochazka J, Sedlacek R, Beales P, Huranova M, Stepanek O: Bardet-Biedl Syndrome ciliopathy is linked to altered hematopoiesis and dysregulated self-tolerance. EMBO Rep 2021, e50785. [pubmed] [doi]
Prasai A, Ivashchenko O, Maskova K, Bykova S, Schmidt Cernohorska M, Stepanek O, Huranova M: BBSome-deficient cells activate intraciliary CDC42 to trigger actin-dependent ciliary ectocytosis. EMBO Rep 2024. [pubmed] [doi]
