진학프로석·박사 채용 접수 플랫폼

Candidate for the position of an Assistant Professor (post-doc) in the Lab. of Pharmacogenomics, Dept. of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences.

The aim of the competition is to select a candidate for the position of Assistant Professor (post-doc) in the Laboratory of Pharmacogenomics, Department of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences (IP PAS or the Institute), to conduct scientific research as part of the implementation of the National Science Centre OPUS 23 project, entitled: “Genetics of GR-dependent behavioral traits humans” (no. 2022/45/B/NZ5/03188).

KEYWORDS: gene regulation, pharmacogenetics, psychotropic drugs, computational genomics.

Scope of duties:

1. 1. Processing and analysis of raw genotyping and gene profiling data;
2. 2. Conducting meta-analyses of transcriptome profiling results;
3. 3. Development of bioinformatics tools and analytical pipelines for processing results of high-throughput DNA sequencing (DNAseq, RNAseq);
4. 4. Identification of regulatory factors involved in the control of expression of gene networks expressed in the brain;
5. 5. Reliable documentation of bioinformatics work (using appropriate code repositories);
6. 6. Analysis of literature data related to project issue;
7. 7. Supervising and planning the work of junior team members;
8. 8. Participation in all research tasks of the project;
9. 9. Preparation of manuscripts for publication and presentation of obtained results at scientific conferences;
10. 10. Strict adherence to the Code of Ethics of employees of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS);
11. 11. Compliance with the regulations and orders in force at IP PAS.

Terms of employment:

Employment in the project under a full-time employment contract for a period of 13 months with the possibility of extension for the duration of the project. Salary: PLN 140,000.00 gross gross per year. Source of funding: NCN OPUS 23 grant no. 2022/45/B/NZ5/03188.

Description of research topic:

Despite many years of research, the biological mechanisms involved in translating the effects of stress into a lasting disturbance of mental state are not fully understood. It is known that the physiological response to negative stimuli is controlled by the activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and regulated by the level of glucocorticoid (GC) release. The action of GCs is systemic and occurs in various tissues and cell types via the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), which has the properties of a transcription factor. The coordination of GC effects in different organs takes place through activation or inhibition of specific gene expression patterns.

The aim of the project is to assign genes regulated by GR to the appropriate biological pathways and to link them to the development of stress-induced mental disorders. Large population data sets, clinical information and genome sequencing reads made available in the UK Biobank database will be used. A multidimensional profile of human traits dependent on GR activity will be defined. Associations will be sought between the occurrence of variants of GR-controlled genes and phenotypic traits observed in humans (in four categories: metabolism, physiology, psychiatry and pharmacology). Polygenic risk scores for specific traits and behavioural parameters will be analysed. A database of information on GR-dependent profiles of gene expression changes in different types of human nerve cells will be developed. The cellular model used will be based on the differentiation of neuronal and glial cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines. Identified links between GR-dependent genes and traits occurring in humans will be verified through functional experiments in model iPSC-based systems.

The project is intended to lead to the determination of a set of traits dependent on GR activity on the basis of genetic correlations between regulated genes and their biological significance in the context of the functions of individual cell types. The results will provide new information on the molecular basis of the impact of stress on the development of such diseases as depression and anxiety disorders. Understanding the molecular patterns induced by stress may offer an opportunity to develop and test psychoactive compounds with completely new mechanisms of action.