IMCBIO
From December 15 to March 6 (registration deadline March 1st!) you can apply to our PhD Call* to start your PhD in2023 – please follow this link.
*Please note that PhD projects will be uploaded continuously during the duration of the call.
This year again from November 21 – 25, 2022, M2 students from the IMCBio program organized a successful international Symposium. Fourteen national and international speakers were our guests. This year’s program covered Plant Biology, Virology, Immunology, Structural – and Developmental Biology, Molecular Biology and Genetics, as well as a distinguished lecture co-organized with the Cercle Gutenberg. Three different locations hosted the presentations this year : Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes (IBMP), Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IBMC), and the Institut de Génétique, Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC).
Students and lecturers had many possibilities to exchange, not only during the question time that followed the talks, but also during the coffee breaks and shared lunches.
After a busy and intensive week, we expect that all participating M1 and M2 students from IMCBio as well as their non-IMCBio peers left for the weekend with many new ideas and having made valuable contacts.
Top from left to right: Dr Mark Cock (Station Biologique de Roscoff) at IBMP ; Dr Peter Brodersen (Copenhagen University) at IBMP ; Dr Mei Li (IGBMC, Illkirch) at IBMC. Bottom from left to right : BGM M2 students present Dr Jean Louis Mandel (IGBMC; Illkirch) at IGBMC; M1 and M2 students at the IGBMC Auditorium ; Dr Thibaut Klein (University Hospital, Basel) at IGBMC.
In our fourth edition of Welcome PhDs to IMCBio we have portraits from Maximilian Kohl from Austria and Karan Joshi from India.
Research Cluster NetRNA at ARN-Unit, IBMC – Maximilian Kohl
Maximilian Kohl is a young Austrian graduate student with interest in RNA biology and translation/ribosome research. While studying Molecular Medicine to obtain a master’s degree in his hometown at the Medical University of Innsbruck, he joined the lab of Prof. Matthias Erlacher for a master’s thesis project, specializing in bacterial translation initiation. Intrigued by this intricate process at the heart of post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms, he carried out research addressing novel and lesser-explored aspects of translation initiation. Through the guidance of his kind-spirited and supportive supervisor, his project progressed to a point where his findings are now close to publication. He is eager to see his work shared with the scientific community and looks forward to receiving feedback.
Maximilian was keen on pursuing the next step of a scientific career, performing basic research to obtain a doctoral degree. In, what he describes as “a stroke of good fortune”, he turned his attention to Strasbourg and the IMCBio graduate program. While presenting his research during a poster session at the NetRNA 2022 Congress in honor of Prof. Eric Westhof, he got the chance to meet numerous members of the group of Dr Pascale Romby. Encouraged by the scientific discussions, he decided to apply for a PhD thesis project at the IMCBio graduate school. Because of his passion for translation and ribosome research, he is thrilled to continue working on these subjects, supervised by Dr Stefano Marzi, an expert in the field.
His PhD topic is “a functional study of small proteins and RNA chaperone proteins in translational control in Staphylococcus aureus”. S. aureus is an opportunistic pathogen, whose infamous rise of antibiotic-resistant strains represents a pressing need for in-depth research. While both the virulence as well as the environmental adaptability of S. aureus are facilitated by well-orchestrated programs that regulate gene expression, only little is known about the functional roles and importance of small proteins, derived from small open reading frames (smORFs). Maximilian is excited to dedicate the next few years to this project and thrilled to delve once more into the intricate regulatory mechanisms that govern translational control of prokaryotic gene expression. Even more so, in the beautiful city of Strasbourg, surrounded by a vibrant scientific community and a kind and welcoming research group.
Research Cluster INRT, Department of Translational Medicine and Neurogenetics – Karan Joshi
Karan Joshi studied for an integrated Master’s degree at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Mohali, India (IISER-M). He initially joined the degree with Chemistry in my mind, being fascinated by the beauty and intricacies of molecules, organic synthesis, and molecular kinetics. He was always intrigued him to pursue them. However, after a brief stint with quantum chemistry, he chose to try hands-on other STEM disciplines, for instance, theoretical physics. Not finding much sense in classical mechanics, he preferred moving on to study biology where he initially worked in Ethology, using the Cricket model system first and then avian Jungle Babblers. He found the work in the field quite fulfilling, and at the same time, he felt he matured as a scholar with each course he took in biology, from Advanced cellular biology to Cancer biology to Protein engineering. He spent time learning molecular biology, working with yeast in a ubiquitin biology lab under the supervision of Dr Shravan Kumar Mishra, doing short-term experimentation with scientific rigour.
For his master’s thesis, he spent a year working in an endomembrane trafficking lab under the supervision of Dr Mahak Sharma. During that stay, he dealt with Salmonella and its close interaction with the endomembrane network and the endoplasmic reticulum of epithelial cells using HeLa cells as a model.
This work focused on cellular and molecular biology, enabled him to apply to IGBMC. Karan was attracted to the program by the nature of the research and the interdisciplinary scientific thinking he advocates for. He feels really excited and lucky to have joined Dr Sexton’s lab, which focuses on the genome’s spatial organisation.
When he’s not working or thinking about work, he enjoys reading, looking at art, hiking, birdwatching and photography.
The 2022 edition of the IMCBio Symposium organized by our M2 students is ready! (To see images click right and open in new tab)
On the program: 19 speakers from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, UK and Switzerland. The subjects covered: Plant Biology, Virology, Immunology, Genetics and Molecular Biology as well as Structural- and Developmental Biology. A special series is our “Distinguished Lecturer” Symposium – which this year is co- organized with the Cercle Gutenberg. As in previous years, we co-organize the Immunology Symposium with the Life Science Faculty at the University of Strasbourg.
Third week to go! this week we present the portraits of Yash, from India, and Thomas, from France.
Research Cluster INRT – Department of Development and Stem Cells, Yash Parekh
After finishing his Master’s from NIT, Bhopal, India, Yash joined the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology as a Project Associate. Being majorly exposed to translational research, he worked on the development of the 3D bioprinted cornea and was also actively involved in establishing the culture systems for various SARS-CoV2 strains.
In October 2022, he embarked upon his PhD journey under the mentorship of Dr Wojciech Krezel and Dr Pascal Dolle as part of the IMCBio International PhD program. His work revolves around the framework of the “Integrative Biology: Nuclear dynamics, Regenerative and Translational medicine” (INRT) research cluster. His research focuses on deciphering the role of retinoid receptors in the microglial and oligodendrocyte development
Moving to a new country was for Yash a big decision and he is glad his first international experience is in Strasbourg. The city has brought in many new experiences in his life and he states cooking as his upcoming talent.
Yash describes himself as calm, quiet and an ambivert. Apart from spending time in the lab, he loves to indulge in watching movies and is a big Bollywood and MCU fan.
His motivation to join IGBMC stems from his previous work experience and also from the excitement of getting a chance to work in an interdisciplinary and interactive environment and working alongside a very positive mentorship.
Research Cluster NetRNA at ARN-Unit, IBMC – Thomas Morand
After obtaining a degree in sociology in his native city of Nantes and spending a year as an Erasmus exchange student in Lund, Sweden, rich in experiences and discoveries, Thomas Morand decided to reorient himself towards the discipline that had attracted him for many years – biology – with the objective of doing scientific research. He followed a bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology in Nantes, then decided to apply for the master’s degree in Biology and Molecular Genetics in Strasbourg associated to the IMCBio program. His choice was motivated by the reputation of the “Eurometropole” in terms of teaching and research in life sciences, but also by the living environment offered by the beautiful city of Strasbourg. As part of his master’s degree, he had the opportunity to do internships at the IGBMC and at the IBMC, which gave him a good overview of the research as a profession.
After his master, he joined Pr Carine Meignin’s team as a PhD Student in the IMCBio PhD program to study the epitranscriptome of viral RNAs and its role in viral replication using Drosophila melanogaster as a model, an innovative and under-explored subject.
He was attracted by the PhD subject which he finds exciting, by the seriousness of the research unit and the host team, as well as the reputation of the IBMC and the IMCBio program. His work will take place in the framework of the NetRNA research cluster.