Postdoctoral Fellow — Multidrug Efflux Pump Structural Biology

Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology

Postdoctoral Fellow — Multidrug Efflux Pump Structural Biology

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the largest institutes in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), conducts and supports basic and applied research to better understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases.

A postdoctoral fellowship position is available in the Bacterial Pathogenesis and Antimicrobial Resistance Section (BPARS), Division of Intramural Research, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology, NIAID.

This position will offer a unique opportunity to study the structure and function of a resistance-nodulation-division (RND) class efflux pump involved in multidrug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and related systems in other bacteria. This project is a collaboration between John P. Dekker, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of BPARS, and Susan K. Buchanan, Ph.D., Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The project aims to elucidate a recently discovered mechanism of antibiotic resistance and generate insights that will facilitate the development of efflux pump inhibitors. Access to home source X-ray facilities, two state-of-the-art NIH cryo-EM centers, and dedicated access to beamlines at the Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Photon Source (APS) facility are available.

Selected publications of the project’s recent research are as follows:

• Structural basis for iron piracy by pathogenic Neisseria. Nature. 2012 Feb 12;483(7387):53-8 Structural engineering of a phage lysin that targets gram-negative pathogens. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jun 19;109(25):9857-62 Hypermutator strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa reveal novel pathways of resistance to combinations of cephalosporin antibiotics and beta-lactamase inhibitors. PLoS Biol. 2022 Nov 18;20(11):e3001878.

Qualifications

Required

• Doctoral degree and fewer than 5 years of postdoctoral experience Experience in protein structure determination by X-ray crystallography and/or cryo-EM
• Experience with standard molecular biology techniques
• A record of relevant high-quality publications Excellent biochemistry skills

Preferred

• Experience in membrane or soluble protein expression and purification
• Experience with bacterial culture techniques

To Apply

Interested candidates should email the following to both Dr. John Dekker at john.dekker@nih.gov and Dr. Susan Buchanan at susan.buchanan2@nih.gov:

• Curriculum vitae Bibliography Three references who may be contacted for letters A short statement about their skill set and research interests

Applicants may be United States citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, or non-U.S. citizens eligible for a valid work authorization. Applications from women, persons from underrepresented groups, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged. This position is subject to a background investigation.

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HHS, NIH, and NIAID are equal opportunity employers dedicated to equity, diversity, and inclusion.