Postdoctoral position: Addressing the mechanical evolution of colorectal cancer

The team

The “Tumor Dynamics and Plasticity” group is a newly established research team at Institut Gustave Roussy (Villejuif, Paris), led by Carlos Pérez-González. Our goal is to understand how mechanochemical signals regulate tumor cell state patterning and how these processes drive tumor progression and clinical outcome.

With the help of our recent ERC Starting Grant, we are building a multidisciplinary team at the interface of biology and physics, integrating mechanobiology, quantitative imaging and transcriptomics in organoids and tumors. Located within the largest cancer hospital in Europe, our lab benefits from access to patient-derived organoids, clinical samples, and oncology expertise.

The candidate

We are seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher with expertise in quantitative biology or bioinformatics. The candidate will develop multidisciplinary research bridging tissue mechanics and transcriptomics, with the goal of understanding how mechanical signals guide cancer cell plasticity. The project will involve developing pipelines to combine organoid force measurements with spatial omics approaches. Ideally, the candidate should be interested in both wet- and dry-lab research, but wet-lab experience is not required.

The candidate should have experience in quantitative biology and/or bioinformatic analysis, including:

• Image analysis (cell segmentation, tracking, morphometry analysis)
• Spatial transcriptomics
• Single-cell sequencing

Our ambition is to create a supportive, inclusive, and stimulating research environment where scientific curiosity thrives. We value collaboration, intellectual rigor, and creativity, and we are committed to fostering a positive atmosphere in which team members can grow scientifically and personally. 

Application

If you are interested, please send the following documents to carlos.perezgonzalez@gustaveroussy.fr by November 15th:

• Motivation letter
• CV
• Contact details of references who can provide recommendations

All applicants will be notified of the outcome after the application deadline.

References

• Pérez-González C* #, Bruckner D*, Di-Luoffo M, Richon S, Goswami R, Baghdadi M, Piastra-Facon F, Zajac O, Felsenthal N, Fumagalli A, Bouras R, van der Net M, Gloerich M, Guck J, van Rheenen J, Guillermet-Guibert J, Hannezo E, Vignjevic DM. Self-organization of tumor heterogeneity and plasticity. BioRxiv 2025.10. 09.681487 (2025).  
• Barbazan J*, Pérez-González C*, Gómez-González M, Dedenon M, Richon S, Latorre E, Serra M, Mariani P, Descroix S, Sens P, Trepat X#, Vignjevic DM#. Cancer-associated fibroblasts actively compress cancer cells and modulate mechanotransduction. Nat. Commun. 14, 6966 (2023). 
• Pérez-González C, Ceada G, Matejčić M, Trepat X#. Digesting the mechanobiology of the intestinal epithelium. Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 72, 82–90 (2022).
• Pérez-González C*, Ceada G*, Greco F, Matejčić M, Gómez-González M, Castro N, Menendez A, Kale S, Krndija D, Clark AG, Gannavarapu VR, Álvarez-Varela A, Roca-Cusachs P, Batlle E, Vignjevic DM#, Arroyo M#, Trepat X#. Mechanical compartmentalization of the intestinal organoid enables crypt folding and collective cell migration. Nat. Cell Biol. 23, 745–757 (2021).