Postdoctoral researcher in Immunotherapy
REF: 23-245_R_CC
About the research group
Cancer Immunotherapy
The Cancer Immunotherapy Group, led by Dr Piulats and Dr Alemany, is dedicated to develop new Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) to treat the so called “cold” tumors and rare malignancies. It combines clinical and translational research.
One of the main focus on our group is on Uveal Melanoma, a rare tumor of the eye with a dismal prognosis once metastasize. We have led different clinical trials based on immunotherapy (NCT05047276, NCT02626962, NCT05542342) and participated in others (NCT02570308, NCT03070392),
About the role
We seek an enthusiastic postdoctoral fellow willing to participate in our translational project supported by the Cancer Research Institute. The main objective of the PREMI-UM project is to develop a cellular therapy based on cloned TCRs recognizing driver mutations typical of uveal melanoma into autologous T-cells. The candidate will select and characterize functionally the patient’s derived TCRs using in vitro and in vivo orthoxenograft murine models, create a defined TCRs-HLA bank for therapeutic use, and develop standard operating procedures for cloning and expression of selected TCRs in autologous patient T-cells for further GMP development.
References:
1: Wenthe J, et al. Immunostimulatory gene therapy targeting CD40, 4-1BB and IL-2R activates DCs and stimulates antigen-specific T-cell and NK-cell responses in melanoma models.
J Transl Med. 2023 Jul 27;21(1):506.
2: Del Carpio LP, et al.
Differences in glucose metabolic activity in liver metastasis separates two groups of metastatic uveal melanoma patients with different prognosis. Cancer Med. 2023 Jul;12(13):14062-14071.
3: Lozano-Rabella M, et al.
Exploring the Immunogenicity of Noncanonical HLA-I Tumor Ligands Identified through Proteogenomics. Clin Cancer Res. 2023 Jun 13;29(12):2250-2265.
4: Fizazi K, et al. Rucaparib or Physician's Choice in Metastatic Prostate Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2023 Feb 23;388(8):719-732.
5: Palomero J, et al. Biomarkers of tumor-reactive CD4+ and CD8+ TILs associate with improved prognosis in endometrial cancer. J Immunother Cancer. 2022 Dec;10(12):e005443.
6: Marín-Jiménez JA, et al.
Facts and Hopes in Immunotherapy of Endometrial Cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2022 Nov 14;28(22):4849-4860.
7: Carvajal RD, et al. Clinical and molecular response to tebentafusp in previously treated patients with metastatic uveal melanoma: a phase 2 trial. Nat Med. 2022 Nov;28(11):2364-2373
8: Garcia-Carbonero R, et al.
Phase I, multicenter, open-label study of intravenous VCN-01 oncolytic adenovirus with or without nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine in patients with advanced solid tumors. J Immunother Cancer. 2022 Mar;10(3):e003255.
9: Powles T, et al. Atezolizumab with enzalutamide versus enzalutamide alone in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: a randomized phase 3 trial. Nat Med. 2022 Jan;28(1):144-153.
7: Nathan P, et al. Overall Survival Benefit with Tebentafusp in Metastatic Uveal Melanoma. N Engl J Med. 2021 Sep 23;385(13):1196-1206.
10: Romero OA, et al. SMARCA4 deficient tumours are vulnerable to KDM6A/UTX and KDM6B/JMJD3 blockade. Nat Commun. 2021 Jul 14;12(1):4319.
11: Farrera-Sal M, et al.
Evolving Status of Clinical Immunotherapy with Oncolytic Adenovirus. Clin Cancer Res. 2021 Jun 1;27(11):2979-2988.
12: Piulats JM, et al. Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab for Treatment-Naïve Metastatic Uveal Melanoma: An Open-Label, Multicenter, Phase II Trial by the Spanish Multidisciplinary Melanoma Group (GEM-1402). J Clin Oncol. 2021 Feb 20;39(6):586-598.
13: Abida W, et al. Rucaparib in Men With Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Harboring a BRCA1 or BRCA2 Gene Alteration. J Clin Oncol. 2020 Nov 10;38(32):3763-3772.
14: Grob JJ, et al. Pembrolizumab Monotherapy for Recurrent or Metastatic Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Single-Arm Phase II Trial (KEYNOTE-629). J Clin Oncol. 2020 Sep 1;38(25):2916-2925.
15: Farrera-Sal M, et al.
Arming Oncolytic Adenoviruses: Effect of Insertion Site and Splice Acceptor on Transgene Expression and Viral Fitness. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Jul 21;21(14):5158.
16: Farrera-Sal M, et al.
FEffect of Transgene Location, Transcriptional Control Elements and Transgene Features in Armed Oncolytic Adenoviruses. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Apr 23;12(4):1034.
17: Antonarakis ES, et al. Pembrolizumab for Treatment-Refractory Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: Multicohort, Open-Label Phase II KEYNOTE-199 Study. J Clin Oncol. 2020 Feb 10;38(5):395-405.
18: Smith M, et al. Addition of radium-223 to abiraterone acetate and prednisone or prednisolone in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer and bone metastases (ERA 223): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2019 Mar;20(3):408-419.
19: de Sostoa J, et al.
Targeting the tumor stroma with an oncolytic adenovirus secreting a fibroblast activation protein-targeted bispecific T-cell engager. J Immunother Cancer. 2019 Jan 25;7(1):19.
20: Moreno R, et al. Enhanced Antitumor Efficacy of Oncolytic Adenovirus-loaded Menstrual Blood-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Combination with Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells. Mol Cancer Ther. 2019 Jan;18(1):127-138.
Job requirements
Professional experience
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Candidates must have obtained a PhD on Immunology or biomedical research areas by January 2024.
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Good publication record is a plus
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Experience in developing cellular therapies will be highly regarded
Education and training
Technical & soft skills
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High technical skills in immunological techniques such as cytometry, ELISPOT, human T-cell transduction
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Proficiency in bioinformatics tools related to TCR characterization and gene expression analysis
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Experience in molecular biology techniques, use of lentiviral vectors, CRISPR-CAS9 cloning
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The candidate should be a very organized, motivated, team-oriented individual
Languages
We will value, but not required
- Knowledge in bioinformatics (R, Python)
- Experience coordinating students within the laboratory.
What do we offer
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Estimated start date: 08/01/2024
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Contract duration: 24 months
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Estimated annual gross salary: 31.000€
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You will be part of a multicultural team. We have a fun loving and friendly international work environment.
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Flexible working schedule - We know you have a life outside of work and we will work with you to make sure it's kept that way.
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Possibility to work some days in remote -Teleworking
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26 working days of holiday per year
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System of accumulated hours for employees, from 88 to 104 hours depending on the year (11 to 13 working days), to attend to personal matters.
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Benefits of constant training are offered
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We offer and promote diverse and inclusive conditions. Applicants are made free from any discrimination. Specifically IDIBELL works to improve gender equality in all areas with the aim of achieving gender balance, but maintaining the most scrupulous respect to any choice at the level of gender identity. Please express yourself freely, safely and non-binarily, if that's the case.
Deadline: Please submit your application by 31/10/2023
Data protection notice
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Our institute
IDIBELL is a research center that integrates the biomedical research of the Bellvitge University Hospital (HUB), the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), and the University of Barcelona in the Bellvitge Campus (UB), and the Viladecans Hospital (HV). The research focuses of IDIBELL are cancer, neuroscience, translational medicine and regenerative medicine. Research, innovation and society are the pivots on which researchers work every day in order to improve the quality of life of citizens.
Observations:
The 'HR Excellence in Research' award represents IDIBELL’s commitment to the implementation of Human Resources policies, which oversee the attracting and development of talent in an open, transparent, and based on personal merit, in alignment with the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment Researchers (Charter and Code).
IDIBELL is committed to the principles of the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers of the European Commission and the implementation of open, transparent and merit-based recruitment (OTMR).
This project is supported by a Cancer Research Institute CLIP Grant (CRI Clinic and Laboratory Integration Program; reference number CRI4836). We thank CERCA Programme /Generalitat de Catalunya for institutional support.
