Postdoctoral fellowship - immunoregulation and genomics

Position Description: Up to two postdoctoral positions are available (open until filled) for enthusiastic scientists to work in the area of adaptive immunity. The posts are part of a multi-disciplinary collaboration between two labs at Purdue University (Kazemian lab) and the NIH (Afzali lab). These labs focus on the regulatory circuitries underlying immune cell fate decisions, their relationship to tissue inflammation/repair, infectious diseases and cancer development. Examples of outputs from this collaboration include the following:

1. Kolev M, West E, Kunz N, Chauss D, Moseman E, Rahman J, Freiwald T, Balmer M, Loetscher J, Dimeloe S, Rosser E, Wedderburn L, Mayer-Barber K, Bohrer A, Lavender P, Cope A, Wang L, Kaplan M, Moutsopoulos N, McGavern D, Holland S, Hess C,  Kazemian M,  Afzali B, Kemper C, “Diapedesis-induced integrin signaling via LFA-1 facilitates tissue immunity by inducing intrinsic complement C3 expression in immune cells”. Immunity 2020; 52(3): 513-527. (Immunity Link)
2. Povoleri GAM, Nova-Lamperti E, Scottà C, Fanelli G, Chen Y-C, Becker P, Boardman D, Constantini B, Romano M, Pavlidis P, McGregor R, Pantazi E, Chauss D, Sun H-W, Shih H-Y, Cousins D, Cooper N, Powell N, Kemper C, Pirooznia M, Laurence A, Kordasti S, Kazemian M, Lombardi G, Afzali B. Retinoic acid-regulated CD161⁺ Tregs support wound repair in intestinal mucosa. Nature Immunology 2018; 19: 1403-1414. (Nature Immunology Link)
3. McGregor R, Chauss D, Freiwald T, Yan B, Wang L, Nova-Lamperti E, Zhang Z, Teague H, West EE, Bibby J, Kelly A, Malik A, Freeman AF, Schwartz D, Portilla D, John S, Lavender P, Lionakis MS, Mehta NN, Kemper C, Cooper N, Lombardi G, Laurence A, Kazemian M^*, Afzali B^*. An autocrine Vitamin D-driven Th1 shutdown program can be exploited for COVID-19. bioRxiv 2020. Under Review (bioRxiv link).
4. Yan B, Freiwald T, Chauss D, Wang L, West E, Mirabelli C, Zhang CJ, Nichols E-M, Malik N, Gregory R, Bantscheff M, Ghidelli-Disse S, Kolev M, Frum T, Spence JR, Sexton JZ, Alysandratos KD, Kotton DN, Pittaluga S, Bibby J, Niyonzima N, Olson M, Kordasti S, Portilla D, Wobus CE, Laurence A, Lionakis MS, Kemper C, Afzali B, Kazemian M. SARS-CoV2 drives JAK1/2-dependent local complement hyperactivation. †Joint first authors. Science Immunol 2021; 6(58):eabg0833. doi: 10.1126/sciimmunol.abg0833 (Science Immunology Link).
5. Yan B, Chakravorty S, Mirabelli C, Wang L, Trujillo-Ochoa JL, Chauss D, Kumar D, Lionakis MS, Olson MR, Wobus CE, Afzali B, Kazemian M. Host-virus chimeric events in SARS-CoV2 infected cells are infrequent and artifactual. J Virol. 2021 May 12:JVI.00294-21. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00294-21. (Journal of Virology Link).

The successful candidate will be based either in the Immunoregulation Section of the Kidney Diseases Branch of NIDDK at NIH (Immunoregulation Section) or the Kazemian lab at Purdue University (Kazemian lab) based on the candidate decision and availability of the position. They will leverage bulk-level and single cell high throughout methodologies  to study basic and translational immunoregulation. Candidates are expected to be independent and self-motivated with experience and/or knowledge of contemporary high-throughput sequencing techniques. Experience of immunological mouse models is highly desirable for this post.

Requirements: 

Being able to perform high-throughput sequencing library preparation is highly desirable. The following are essential criteria:

• PhD in molecular and cell biology, immunology or related fields;
• Experience with mouse models;
• Experience in mammalian cell isolation, transfection techniques, cell culture, flow cytometry, in vitro gene manipulation, RNA isolation and handling, hands-on expertise in molecular biology and transcriptional regulation;
• Strong oral and written communication skills;
• Excellent organizational and record keeping skills with high attention to detail;
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively with others;
• Personal and professional integrity;
• Flexibility in work scheduling;

How to apply: Please submit your CV and cover letter outlining your interests and accomplishments, plus two-three letters from referees, to ben.afzali@nih.gov. Please indicate in your cover letter why you are interested in joining our group. Applications will only be considered once all three references have been submitted. Applicants not meeting the essential criteria will not be considered.

Employer: Purdue University

Position Location: Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana or Bethesda NIH campus, Maryland

Purdue University is an EOE / AA employer. All individuals, including minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.