Postdoctoral Fellows

As part of the _National Plan for Recovery and Resilience (Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza, PNRR)_, IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas has started the public selection procedures for recruitment under the projects regardin the **Enhancement and strengthening of biomedical research in the NHS**.

**TITLE AND BRIEF PROJECT DESCRIPTION**:Biomarker identification to guide therapeutic strategy in locally advanced rectal cancer **KMN312-CUP: E23C24000250006**

Patients with non-metastatic advanced rectal cancer often undergo neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, but the outcomes vary significantly, with a 35% chance of distant relapse over five years. About 20-25% of these patients may achieve complete pathological remission, allowing for a non-surgical 'watch-and-wait' approach, while another 20% show mínimal to no response, necessitating alternative treatments. Currently, effective biomarkers to predict treatment outcomes are lacking, partly due to the molecular heterogeneity of rectal cancer.

This project
- developed in collaboration with Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori IRCCS Fondazione G. Pascale
- aims to enhance treatment personalization by discovering new biomarkers through an integrative analysis combining genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and ex-vivo drug screening on tumor samples collected before treatment. The research will focus on establishing a biorepository of patient-derived tumor fragments and organoids to evaluate treatment responses and identify molecular signatures indicative of effectiveness or resistance to therapy. This comprehensive, data-driven strategy could lead to more tailored treatments for patients and potentially introduce novel therapeutic options, significantly advancing precision medicine in the treatment of rectal cancer. This project will be performed in the Precision Medicine research group under the guidance of Prof. Salvatore Piscuoglio and in collaboration with Prof. Antonino Spinelli, director of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery.

**Job profile and brief description of activities required**:
**no. 2 Post doc **_who will be mainly responsible for_
- Molecular study of the mechanisms of response/resistance to anticancer drugs
- Coordination of the activities between the surgical, endoscopic, and the precision medicine laboratory
- Collection of biological samples
- Identification and characterization of new oncogenic mechanisms.

**Technical skills**:

- Strong interest in cancer biology
- Hands-on experience handling patient samples.
- Hands-on experience with cell culture and flow cytometry techniques is a must.
- Experience in drug screening is highly desirable.
- Organized and detail-oriented, able to maintain accurate documentation of experiments and sample information.
- Collaborative, able to work effectively in a team.
- Ability to interpret the data and to generate hypotheses.
- Experience with grant writing
- Experience in primary cell culture and 3D cultures.
- Fluency in English (B2 minimum)
- Experience with manuscript writing
- Ability to multi-task.
- Open Position (published): 20/05/2024_
- End Published: 02/06/2024_