Molecular biology of the cell

Description

Master 2 students from partner Universities (Sorbonne University, University of Paris Cité and Paris-Saclay University) MUST NOT register online and must submit their registration request DIRECTLY to contacts in charge of their university course. These students have free access to the course.

All other students must register online and pay their registration fees.

This three-week intensive laboratory and lecture course is organized in collaboration with the Institut Curie; it is devoted to the presentation of current concepts and new experimental techniques in the study of cellular functions.

Lectures will provide an overview of key research areas, from vesicular trafficking to cell division, mitochondrial biology in health and disease, autophagy, host-pathogen interactions, cell biomechanical properties and their interplay with cell migration and tumor invasion.

The practical session will be monitored by the research group of Thibaut Brunet (Institut Pasteur, Paris). Students will investigate how the cytoskeleton of choanoflagellates, the closest microbial relatives of metazoans, mediates sensing and interaction with external substrates, combining  live imaging of strains expressing cytoskeletal markers, functional perturbations, and quantitative image analysis.

Fellowships (1.500 Euros) will be awarded to the three best applicants from foreign countries to cover, in part, their travel accommodation expenses.

The final exam for participants not enrolled in a Master 2 program from a partner university will take place separately from the exam for Master 2 students from partner universities.

Candidates must have a good knowledge of basic laboratory techniques at the Master degree level. The committee of the course will evaluate applications.

Video

 Course presentation for first-year master’s students in February 2026  :