Carole Charlier

The BOVIGUARD project at the University of Liège is seeking a PhD candidate to investigate the genetic determinants of immune variation in Belgian Blue cattle. The project brings together systems immunology, genomics, and bioinformatics to understand how genetic variation shapes immune responses and disease resistance in this breed. The student will work across a collaborative research environment involving the laboratories of Prof. Laurent Gillet (Immunology, FARAH), Prof. Carole Charlier, and Prof. Keith Durkin (Unit of Animal Genomics, GIGA). The project is designed around close interaction between these laboratories and access to state-of-the-art technologies in immunology, genomics, and bioinformatics. Research activities include collection and processing of cattle biological samples, immunological assays such as ex vivo stimulation, multiplex cytokine measurements, and spectral flow cytometry, as well as transcriptomic work using bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing. The project also includes long-read sequencing, whole bovine genome assembly, and integrative analysis of immunological, genomic, and transcriptomic datasets. The PhD will contribute to identifying genetic variants associated with immune traits through genome-wide association studies, transcriptome-wide association studies, and machine-learning approaches. The work is positioned at the interface of animal health, sustainable livestock production, and fundamental mammalian immunity. The research environment is multidisciplinary and collaborative, involving researchers, veterinarians, bioinformaticians, and industrial partners, with opportunities to present findings at national and international conferences and publish in high-impact journals.