Looking for candidates to apply to the MSCA-Postdoctoral Fellowship with Liver Research Unit (LRU)

About

Our research group aims to understand the biological and pathophysiological processes driving the onset and progression of liver diseases, including steatosis, steatohepatitis, and cirrhosis. We focus on identifying novel therapeutic targets and developing innovative pharmacological approaches, while advancing the development, validation, and implementation of precision medicine in hepatology with a direct impact on clinical practice.

Building on these overarching goals, our specific research lines include:

• Regulation of hepatic microcirculation under physiological conditions and in chronic liver disease.

• Intercellular communication during the progression and regression of chronic liver diseases.

• Transcriptional regulation of hepatic endothelial genes and phenotypic characterization of endothelial cells in portal hypertension, ischemia–reperfusion, cirrhosis, and aging, with emphasis on signaling pathways and associated therapeutic strategies.

• Sinusoidal mapping in disease and aging.

• Identification of biomarkers associated with sinusoidal capillarization.

• Discovery of diagnostic biomarkers predicting therapeutic response.

• Integration of clinical and translational studies to validate biomarkers, vasoprotective therapies, and diagnostic tools in patients with chronic liver disease.

• Multidisciplinary projects in collaboration with clinical hepatology, liver surgery, and systems biology to investigate acute and chronic liver injury.

Candidate profile

The ideal MSCA candidate will bring strong scientific curiosity, technical expertise, and a collaborative mindset to contribute to our work on hepatic microcirculation, endothelial biology, precision hepatology, and biomarker discovery.

Essential qualifications

•        PhD in biomedical sciences, or related fields.

•        Demonstrated research experience in one or more of the following areas:

·       Pathobiology of chronic liver diseases (steatosis, steatohepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis).

·       Endothelial cell biology, microvascular regulation, or vascular remodeling.

·       Intercellular communication, inflammation, or immune–endothelial interactions.

·       Metabolic dysfunction–associated mechanisms in liver disease (e.g., lipotoxicity, oxidative stress, metabolic rewiring).

·       Molecular mechanisms related to portal hypertension, ischemia-reperfusion injury, or aging.

•        Strong background in experimental methodologies, such as:

·       Primary cell cultures, endothelial phenotyping, flow cytometry, omics approaches.

·       In vivo models of liver injury (desirable but not mandatory).

·       Advanced imaging, confocal microscopy, or spatial transcriptomics (asset).

•        Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.

•        Proven ability to design, execute, analyze, and interpret research experiments independently.

•        Desirable skills & experience

•        Previous experience with omics analysis (RNA-seq, scRNA-seq, spatial transcriptomics/proteomics, epigenomics), bioinformatics, or computational biology.

•        Interest in translational research, biomarker validation, or precision medicine approaches.

•        Familiarity with patient-derived samples or collaboration with clinical teams.

•        Publications in peer reviewed journals demonstrating scientific excellence.

•        Motivation to apply for highly competitive fellowships and contribute to a dynamic research environment.

More information can be found on: https://www.iispv.cat/en/msca-pf-call-for-interest/

How to apply?

If you are interested in this opportunity, send your expression of interest to  upi@irbcatsud.cat, indicating the MSCA-PF + research group in the subject.