Bachelor and Master projects

Available throughout 2023 – contact Pierre Gönczy for further information

Opening for up to 2 Masters students in the Gönczy Laboratory in 2023!

The project is to be chosen amongst the ones listed below. Each project is conducted ideally during 2 semesters, but can be adapted to last only 1. Contact Pierre Gönczy ([email protected]) to find out more!

 

1. Re-engineering SAS-6 proteins

Keywords: cell biology, centriole organelle, CRISPR/Cas9, microscopy

Objective: test whether centrioles can form and function in human cells with engineered SAS-6 proteins with altered sizes and/or symmetries.

Approaches: human cell culture, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated engineering, expansion microscopy, super-resolution microscopy.

Ideal for students in: Life Sciences, Bioengineering.

Wet

2. Analyzing centriole fate during zebrafish muscle formation

Keywords: cell and developmental biology, muscle formation, zebrafish embryos, centrosome and centriole, live imaging

Objective: monitor centrosome and centriole fate during muscle formation in zebrafish embryos

Approaches: injection of RNA/DNA into zebrafish embryos, 4D live imaging using light-sheet microscopy, develop and apply tracking algorithms to monitor centrosomes and centrioles.

Ideal for students in: Life Sciences, Bioengineering.

Wet

3. Analyzing novel centriolar proteins in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Keywords: cell biology, green algae, centriole, CRISPR/Cas9, microscopy

Objective: identify the localization and test the function of novel centriolar proteins in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Approaches: CRISPR/Cas9-mediated GFP tagging, as well as disruption, of novel centriolar proteins in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, expansion microscopy, super-resolution microscopy.

Ideal for students in: Life Sciences, Bioengineering.

Wet

4. Mechanisms of centriole elimination during C. elegans embryogenesis

Keywords: cell and developmental biology, C. elegans, embryogenesis, functional genomics, microscopy

Objective: discover genes that modulate centriole number using C. elegans embryos as model system.

Approaches: RNAi-based functional genomic screen, live imaging, image analysis, molecular biology, cell biology. 

Ideal for students in: Life Sciences, Bioengineering.

Wet

5. Mechanisms of symmetry breaking in the C. elegans zygote

Keywords: cell and developmental biology, C. elegans, embryogenesis, microscopy, mathematical modeling

Objective: decipher mechanisms of symmetry breaking at the onset of development in the C. elegans embryo, using a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches.  

Approaches: molecular biology, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated engineering, live imaging, image analysis, mathematical modeling. 

Ideal for students in: Life Sciences, Bioengineering, Physics.

Dry + Wet