OFFRE de STAGE (Hors UMONS) Origine de l’offre : Institut Jules Bordet Boulevard de Waterloo 121 1000 Bruxelles Description du stage : Voir ci-après Date de réception : 07/11/2016 l L’UMONS n’assume aucun rôle dans la procédure de recrutement et ne peut être tenue responsable du contenu et de la forme des annonces publiées à la requête de tiers, ni du contenu des sites internet de tiers auxquels ces annonces feraient référence. L’UMONS décline dès lors toute responsabilité en cas d’erreur ou d’irrégularité généralement quelconque dans les annonces publiées à la demande des employeurs. Research internship in Brussels Offer type: Research internship Workplace: Institut Jules Bordet, Boulevard de Wtaerloo 121, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium Skill area: Immunology, Oncology, Molecular and Cellular Biology Beginning date: January or February 2017 Duration of the research internship (in month): at least 6 The Molecular Immunology Unit investigates lymphocyte activities in several clinical conditions: First, by studying the organization and cellular state of CD4+ T cells and germinal center B cells infiltrating the breast cancer microenvironment. This work involves both prospective studies designed to understand the functionality and subpopulations of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes present as well as their organization in peritumoral tertiary lymphoid structures, and retrospective studies that seek to apply these findings in the establishment of an immunological grade for breast cancer. Second, by identifying and characterizing specific changes in gene expression associated with clinical progression during the transition from pre-malignant disease to full-blown malignancy in patients with hypereosinophilic syndrome that develop T cell leukemia/lymphoma. Third, by analyzing specific changes in lymphocyte gene expression, with a focus on transcription factors regulating their normal activities, which are aberrantly regulated in human cancer. Fourth, by studying CD4+ T cells infected with human retroviruses (the AIDS causing virus HIV-1 and the leukemia provoking virus HTLV-I) since these viruses have devised effective methods for short-circuiting normal CD4+ T cell activities and thus provide useful tools for elucidating cellular control mechanisms. Our ultimate goal in the fight against cancer is to further understand how we can harness the power and the specificity of the immune response through its revitalization in the hostile tumor microenvironment to produce effective and sustained anti-tumor immunity. Mission You will join the Molecular Immunology Unit to better understand the role of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) in breast cancer. One of the centers of our interest is the production of cytokines by TIL which play an important role in anti/pro-tumor immune response. As an internship student, you will conduct the studies of cytokines expression and measurement in normal tissues and breast cancer. You will set up the RNA in situ hybridization method called RNAscope® ISH for detection of cytokines RNA within intact tissues including normal secondary lymphoid structures. This provides molecular detection in a morphological context to better understand cell-to-cell interactions. Identifying RNA expression at the single cell level within the morphological context provides a great deal of information over conventional techniques that analyze bulk tissue, such as identifying the precise cellular and sub-cellular location of RNA, as well as validation of high-throughput expression analyses. After optimization, you will investigate the expression of cytokines in breast cancer tissues in combination with an immunofluorescence to identify which type of lymphocytes produce cytokines. We are looking for highly motivated candidates. Their applications should contain an updated CV and a letter of recommendation addressed to [email protected].