PhD position: Molecular research on BCL-2 & membrane contact sites

The Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Signaling (), led by Prof. Geert Bultynck, and the Laboratory of Autophagy and Membrane Trafficking, led by Prof. Alex van Vliet, part of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, invites applications for a PhD candidate position. The candidate will conduct a joint PhD project investigating BCL-2 function at membrane contact sites and autophagy under the supervision of Prof. Geert Bultynck and Prof. Alex van Vliet .

Project

Anti-apoptotic BCL-2 proteins enable cell survival by preventing mitochondrial BAX/BAK-pore formation and by preventing pro-apoptotic Ca2+-release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) (Vogler M et al, Signal Transduct Target Ther, 2025). Hematological cancers are addicted to BCL-2 for their survival by counteracting pro-apoptotic oncogenic signaling. Hence, BCL-2 inhibitors emerged as novel precision medicines of which venetoclax is now FDA-approved for treating CLL patients. At the E...