IRB BarcelonaC2-17: Single cell transcriptomics and phenotypic diversity

This project will cover the following aspects: MAP kinases, signalling, cellular stress, transcriptomics, single cell analysis

The Cell Signaling group is lead by F. Posas and E. de Nadal. The group tries to understand how cells detect and respond to environmental changes. They have focused their studies in the characterization of the osmo-stress signal transduction pathways, especially those controlled by MAP kinases of the Hog1/p38 family, also known as the stress activated MAP kinases (SAPK). Using the S. cerevisiae yeast as a model organism as well as higher eukaryotic cells, they analyze the molecular mechanisms of cells to respond to an extracellular stimulus and which are the generated adaptation responses. A proper adaptation to stress requires the modulation of several basic aspects of the cell biology. Among them, cell cycle and gene expression regulation. Recently, the group is also analyzing the basic signaling properties of the HOG pathway and how to alter them, and in the field of synthetic biology, they have implemented complex engineered networks to perform in vivo cellular computation.

Eligibility Criteria
To be admitted to the review process, candidates must comply with the following eligibility criteria:

• Presenting complete applications including all requested compulsory information and documentation.

• Having not spent more than 12 months of the prior 36 months in Spain, at the time of the call deadline. You will be required to confirm your compliance through a self-declaration.

• Hold a University degree (by the time of enrollment in the PhD program) that would qualify the applicant to enter one of the PhD programmes recognized by the BIST research centers. These have formal agreements with the major Catalan Universities (UB, UAB, UPC, URV, and UPF) whereby BIST senior researchers (generally of professorial rank and enjoying international recognition) are accredited to supervise PhD students, who do their research at BIST research centres and obtain their degree from the corresponding university. Please provide evidence when you apply (e.g. scanned copy of your degree or similar).

• At the time of the call deadline, be in the first 4 years of your scientific post gradual career (full-time equivalent research experience). In case your University degree was longer ago than 4 years, you will need to provide documental evidence for complying with this criteria.

• Having not been awarded yet a PhD degree.