The Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) is one of five Swiss university hospitals. Through its collaboration with the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne and the EPFL, CHUV plays a leading role in the areas of medical care, medical research and training.

The Department of Oncology UNIL-CHUV brings together clinical and cancer research in a strong spirit of innovation. It comprises the services of medical oncology, immuno-oncology including advanced cellular therapies, radiation oncology, hematology including stem cell transplantation and the center for experimental therapies. It also integrates the Lausanne branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR), particularly in the field of immunotherapy.

Mission

As part of your mission, you will be will be working on a project developing allogeneic off-the-shelf chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells that resist T and NK cell mediated rejection in allogeneic hosts. Thus, you will:

• Generate and characterise in vitro the newly designed off-the-shelf allogeneic CAR-T cells targeted against acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). These CAR-T cells are engineered to resist rejection by T and NK cells of allogeneic hosts. You will perform the immunological and functional characterization of this new type of CAR-T cell product (test their capacity to resist or evade immune rejection, asses their anti-leukemic activity)


• Perform animal experimentation in accordance with the existing authorizations


• Assess the in vivo function of the newly designed off-the-shelf allogeneic CAR-T cells, by analysing their anti-leukemic activity in vivo in mouse xenograft models (monitoring of tumor growth by bioluminescent imaging and other techniques), evaluate their capacity to resist T and NK cell mediated rejection in vivo


• Participate actively to the oral presentations of the group, within the department, and in national and international conferences


• Help preparing scientific reports and new funding request for the laboratory (in English)


• Assist the team leader with the supervision of students (Master’s and PhD) and laboratory technicians.

Profile

• You have a PhD or equivalent in immunology or cancer biology or in immunooncology


• You have  experience with mouse models (LTK1 certificate or equivalent is required) and direct hands-on experience of at least 1 year with mouse models


• Experience in human immunology and human lymphocyte engineering represents a strong asset


• You have a strong knowledge in flow cytometry and in animal experimentation


• You have a good command of the usual computer tools


• You are fluent in English, both written and spoken, including for scientific presentations


• You are dynamic, adaptable and flexible.

What we offer

To become an employee of the world-famous University Hospital Center from the Canton of Vaud is an assurance of:

• First-rate social benefits such as a Paternity Leave of 20 days and a Maternity Leave of 4 months (there is also the possibility to obtain a complementary breastfeeding leave of 1 month)


• Regular salary progression adapted to your responsibilities


• A 13th salary and 25 days of vacations per year


• A right to at least three days of training per year, by accessing a wide offer of courses not only from the CHUV Training Center but also from external providers


• Possibility to access one of the 500 furnished apartments offered in the surrounding neighborhoods in case of relocation in Switzerland


• Discounts proposed on social and cultural events, goodies and other services, thanks to the “H-Oxygène” association


• Signing up to our Mobility Plan and benefit from different advantages (discounts on public transportation, promotion of “Mobility” car fleet and discounts on electric bikes)


• Being able to enjoy our high-quality corporate restaurants, located in every hospital building, with employees’ discount.