CENTURI Internal newsletter
#6 - March 2019
Summary
CENTURI MSc programme – Computational and Mathematical Biology
Training the new generation of scientist to interdisciplinary research is one of CENTURI’s main goals. As such, CENTURI designed 2 interdisciplinary MSc programmes (Computational and Mathematical Biology and Physics of Complex Systems) supported by active members of our community and Aix-Marseille University.
2019 will mark the opening of our MSc turned towards dedicated to the analysis and the modelling of complex biological systems: Computational and Mathematical Biology. This highly selective international Master of science of Aix-Marseille University will offer an interdisciplinary approach of Mathematics (Statistics, Data Science and Math modelling), Computational science and Biology (Bioinformatics).
It will gather high-level students from different backgrounds, who will benefit from the interdisciplinary synergies between teachers and among students. The Master of Science CMB will grant up to 5 scholarships based on academic results. Students enlisted in 2018-2019 in the Aix-Marseille Academy are not eligible for these scholarships.
CMB is structured around 4 study paths, included in 4 MSc, interacting with each other:
- Computational Science (MSc Computational Science)
- Mathematics:
- Data science, Statistics (MSc Applied Mathematics and Statistics)
- Math modelling (MSc Mathematics and Applications)
- Biology (MSc Bioinformatics):
Applications to our MSc programmes are currently ongoing for non-European students on Études en France. Deadline for application: March 20, 2019
European students will be able to apply to our programmes through Aix-Marseille University’s platform (eCandidat). Application will open on April 01, 2019.
CENTURI Summer School 2019 – From data to biology and back
CENTURI is organising a Summer School on the Luminy campus from June 3 to June 12, 2019.
Entitled “From data to biology and back – Reverse engineering biological networks”, this interdisciplinary training programme aims at building bridges between engineers and scientists. It is a unique opportunity for engineering students and MSc students to apply their skills in mathematics, physics and computational science to biological questions.
The programme is divided in 2 parts:
- Morning courses, where students will explore open questions in biology and discover experimental approaches in biology
- Group projects in the afternoon, where students will work in small groups (3-4 students) on biological data analysis challenges, using state-of-the-art technologies
The summer school will include lectures from four prominent speakers: Stanislas Dehaene (Collège de France), Jérémy Harroch (Quantmetry), Thomas Lecuit (Collège de France) and Eric Vivier (CIML, Innate Pharma).
The summer school is also coupled with an internship program, proposing funded internships in our research laboratories (3 to 6 months). Students can apply for the internship program alone, for the summer school alone, or for both.
Registration deadline: March 31, 2019
As usual, we encourage you to share the news in your professional network!
2nd CENTURI Postdoc call 2019 – Send us your projects
The Turing Centre for Living Systems (CENTURI) is organizing a call for postdoctoral fellowships and will fund up to 5 postdoctoral positions to start in the fall of 2019, for a maximum of two years. Members of our community are encouraged to submit their project at the following address: postdocproject@centuri-livingsystems.org
Deadline: March 15, 2019
Postdoc projects that had been pre-selected for the 2018 call can be resubmitted.
Project applications will be evaluated as they are received by CENTURI Research committee and be advertised on the CENTURI website, once they have been approved. Postdoc candidates will also have the possibility to submit a project, providing that they respect the application criteria and that their application is supported by the host lab(s). Selected projects will be advertised on CENTURI’s website until the end of the call, April 26, 2019. Research teams who host a postdoc recruited in CENTURI 2018 postdoc call are not eligible for the 2019 postdoc call.
An ad hoc evaluation committee will evaluate the applications and select the candidates chosen for an interview. Interviewed candidates will be evaluated by the ad hoc committee, representing CENTURI disciplines.
Calendar – dates
- Project submission (projects from CENTURI research teams and post-docs willing to propose their own project): February 7 – March 15, 2019
- Publication of projects and opening of the call for candidates: February 7 (after the eligibility check) – April 26, 2019
- Preselection of candidates (PIs and ad hoc committee): April 30 – May 17, 2019
- Interviews (ad hoc committee): June 27-28, 2019
- Results of the call: July 1st, 2019
- Final answer (from candidates): July 11, 2019
3rd CENTURI Scientific day – May 10, from 01:00 p.m.
Our 3rd CENTURI Scientific day will take place on May 10, 2019, from 01:00 p.m. at the Hexagone (Luminy campus). It will focus on “Modelling in Biology” and will aim at fostering new interdisciplinary collaborations and projects within our community.
We encourage members of our community to propose short oral presentations (8-10 minutes), focusing on new collaboration projects and/or needs. A total of 16 short talks will be selected by the organization committee. Presentations should focus on the interdisciplinary projects you would like to develop and for which you’re looking for a partner lab. A poster session will also be organized, to facilitate scientific interactions.
This scientific day will also be an opportunity to present CENTURI new research groups.
If you are interested in giving a short presentation or presenting a poster during that day, please write an email describing shortly the title of your talk or poster and a short description (3-4 lines) to Simon Legendre (simon.legendre@univ-amu.fr), by April 10 at the latest. A cocktail party will also be organised after the event to exchange about the projects presented during the event.
CENTURI Training Course – A focus on imaging (April 01-04, 18 & 23-24, 2019)
CENTURI is organizing a training course called “A focus on imaging”, an introduction to the most advanced and popular techniques used in microscopy, image analysis and programming. It will include high-level courses and hands-on practical work with members from our community (CIML, IBDM, IMM, INMED, LAI).
“A focus on imaging” is divided in 2 parts:
- April 01-04: Optics and Imaging Techniques 1
- April 18 & 23-24: Image Techniques 2, Analysis and Programming
An update on CENTURI PhD Call 2019
Advertised from January 14 to February 15, our 2019 PhD Call attracted more than 180 applications from all over the world. PIs are currently evaluating the applications for their project. The final list of shortlisted PhD candidates (for an interview) will be determined by an ad hoc evaluation committee.
Pre-selected candidates will be interviewed on the Luminy Campus on April 24 and 25, 2019.
As a reminder, 14 PhD projects were advertised for CENTURI PhD call 2019. Up to 12 PhD positions are open for this call.
An update on the recruitment of engineers
CENTURI published 4 job offers in order to recruit engineers to join our multi-engineering platform:
- Data analyst – bioinformatics
- Data analyst – image data processing
- Mechatronics research engineer
- Software research engineer
We have received more than 60 applications and we will interview around 10 candidates in March.
Next CENTURI Seminars
Unless mentioned otherwise, the CENTURI seminars take place in the Hexagone's auditorium (01:30 p.m. to 02:30 p.m.).
- Internal Seminar - March 18: Paul Villoutreix (CENTURI - LIS, Marseille, France)
From large image datasets to scientific insights in Developmental biology
- External Seminar (Amphi 12) - April 01: Arezki Boudaoud (ENS Lyon, France)
Variability and robustness in morphogenesis
- Internal Seminar - April 15: Jean-François Rupprecht (CENTURI - CPT, Marseille, France)
TBA
- External Seminar - April 29: Claire Wyart (ICM, Paris, France)
Investigation of interoceptive sensory pathways involved in physiology of the spinal cord and organogenesis
- External Seminar - May 13: Georges Debrégeas (Laboratoire Jean Perrin, Paris, France)
TBA
- Internal Seminar - May 27: Fanny Mann (IBDM, Marseille, France)
Neural plasticity in cancer : for better or for worse ?
- Internal Seminar - June 17: Hervé Rouault (IBDM, Marseille, France)
TBA
- External Seminar - June 24: Atef Asnacios (Université Paris Diderot, France)
TBA