Research Postdoctoral Fellow - Hwang and Liao Laboratory

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A Brief Overview
Under the direction/guidance of a mentor (principal investigator), assumes responsibility for a specific, on-going research project. The experience will serve to extend, refine and enhance skills necessary for professional and career development, and will enable the individual to broaden his/her scientific background by acquiring new research capabilities. It is expected that this individual will conduct independent scholarly research, and will contribute directly to the overall research goals of the project and the research group.

This role will be expected to participate in project planning, recording and interpretation/evaluation of data, and communication of results. This position will also be expected to acquire technical, lab management, and manuscript/grant writing skills; and participate in seminars, lectures, poster sessions and presentations at national meetings. This role also may be required to supervise junior lab members, develop new methods and protocols for research, and assist with the development of other research projects in the lab.

Hwang and Liao Laboratory

The Center for Craniofacial Innovation at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute is seeking a highly motivated research fellow interested in craniofacial developmental biology and genetics, in particular nerve biology and translation to treat conditions affecting sensory and motor nerves. We are specifically interested in seeking a candidate with expertise in mouse models, human cell lines, and computational biology. We have a pipeline of studying human subjects with nerve and craniofacial conditions, working with human neurological specimens, including spinal cord and dorsal root/autonomic ganglia. Experiments will involve direct human cell culture, human iPSC, mouse or zebrafish models, as we are able to dissect the developmental genetic basis of craniofacial malformations and the dysfunction of peripheral nerves in this anatomical region.

The fellow will join a collaborative group of scientists who study the basic and translational biology of nerve and craniofacial biology, morphogenesis, cell specification, and development. Additionally, the fellow will join a parallel investigation on the regulatory pathways that govern neuronal fitness and survival. In this instance, the fellow's work will have a direct bearing on the discovery of drugs to mitigate malformation phenotypes and target delivery to disease-driving neurons characterizing neurodegenerative disease.

We integrate the approaches of stem cell and computational biology and use these to explore human tissue regeneration and disease. We apply the latest technology in genetics with routine use of multi-omics, CRISPR, iPSC, single-cell RNAseq, Cut&Run transcriptional analysis, cell transplants, FACS, live confocal labeling and imaging, transgenics, chemical screening, and many other experimental approaches. Our laboratories are fully integrated with the Center for Computational and Genomic Medicine, which develops and implements state-of-the-art computational techniques and methods in bioinformatics: long read single cell/nuclei RNA sequencing, ChIP-X, Hi-C/3C chromosome conformation, and AI-assisted data harmonization. Our laboratory has dedicated human cell, organoid, mouse, and zebrafish facilities outfitted with the latest imaging, injection and cell manipulation instruments. We will extrapolate human studies to vertebrate models, specifically with mice for their advantages in generating human disease models, and zebrafish for higher throughput gene expression and function studies. Researchers work in open format laboratory space that foster interactions with other stellar researchers working in the Center, with ample opportunities to participate in scientific seminars and professional development.

What you will do

• Conduct independent scholarly research and develop new methods and protocols
• Participate in project planning, recording and evaluation of data
• Acquire technical, lab management and grant writing skills
• Participate in seminars, lectures, poster sessions and presentation at national meetings
• Supervise junior lab members
• Assist with other research projects

Education Qualifications

• Doctorate - Required

Skills and Abilities

• Ability to wear a respirator device

• A strong experimental foundation in mouse genetics, development, cell, developmental, and computational analyses (R/Python and/or MATLAB) is mandatory.

• Additional experience with human neuron/cell culture, iPSC derivation, iPSC analysis, cell culture, animal models, is desirable.

• Working knowledge of recombinant DNA methods, genomics, and microscopes is welcome.

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SALARY RANGE:

Salary ranges are shown for full-time jobs. If you're working part-time, your pay will be adjusted accordingly.

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