Postdoctoral Fellow - Hematology-Oncology and Immunology

Company: City of Hope
Location: Monrovia
Posted on: February 16, 2020

Job Description:

About City of Hope City of Hope, an innovative biomedical research, treatment and educational institution with over 6,000 employees, is dedicated to the prevention and cure of cancer and other life-threatening diseases and guided by a compassionate, patient-centered philosophy. Founded in 1913 and headquartered in Duarte, California, City of Hope is a remarkable non-profit institution, where compassion and advanced care go hand-in-hand with excellence in clinical and scientific research. City of Hope is a National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation---s leading cancer centers that develops and institutes standards of care for cancer treatment. Position Summary The Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope is looking for a talented and motivated Postdoctoral Fellow in the newly established laboratory of Dr. Srividya Swaminathan in the Department of Systems Biology. The lab is focused on understanding the immune microenvironment surrounding B- and T- lymphoid malignancies. By comparing the global immune landscape during normal and malignant lymphopoiesis, immunotherapies will be identified that specifically target malignant lymphocytes. Research spans Hematology, Oncology, and Immuno-Oncology. Experiments are performed with transgenic mouse models of lymphoid malignancies, primary human lymphoid cancer cells, humanized mice, transplantation models to study interactions between malignant lymphocytes and host immunity, gene editing, classical molecular and cell biology, and oncogenic signal transduction. Methods that will be extensively utilized but not limited to are: Immune profiling (flow cytometry, mass cytometry (CyTOF), CIBERSORT) In vivo assays (mouse genetics, intravenous and intrafemoral transplantation assays, humanized mouse models of lymphoma, pre-clinical testing of cell-based and other immunotherapies in xenotransplantation models, bioluminescence imaging) Molecular biology and biochemistry (retroviral/lentiviral transduction, molecular cloning, RNA/DNA sequencing, qPCR, immunoblotting, immunofluorescence, luminex) Qualifications Basic education, experience and skills required for consideration: PhD in Immunology, Cell, Molecular biology, life or biomedical sciences, or a related discipline is required; Enthusiasm for science, and willingness to think beyond established concepts; Experience with flow cytometry, and prior experience with handling mice and performing in vivo procedures (strongly desired); Enthusiasm to learn new experimental and computational data analysis tools; Highly independent with excellent organizational skills; Collaborative team player. Additional Information: Application should include Curriculum Vitae and coordinates of three scientific mentors; Application should include a cover letter highlighting research interests, a brief statement explaining how past research ties in with the goals of this laboratory, and future career plans; For more information about Dr. Swaminathan---s research please click here: https://www.cityofhope.org/research/systems-biology/systems-biology-research-labs/srividya-swaminathan-lab ; Recent work: While working as a Postdoctoral Fellow and then as an Instructor at Stanford University, Dr. Swaminathan investigated how oncogenes modulate anti-tumor immune surveillance (Swaminathan et al., Nature Communications, in revision; bioRxiv, 2018: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/503086v1 ; JITC,2018: https://jitc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40425-018-0431-x ). Using CyTOF in a primary mouse model of MYC-driven T cell neoplasia, she mechanistically demonstrated the direct and reversible suppression of natural killer (NK) cells by the MYC oncogene. Her studies provide a strong rationale for developing NK cells as a therapy against MYC-driven, and other oncogene-driven lymphoid malignancies that rely on MYC (Swaminathan et al., Nature Communications, in revision; bioRxiv, 2018: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/503086v1 . Dr. Swaminathan---s laboratory will utilize her extensive research experience in normal and malignant lymphocyte biology (Nature Immunology, 2015: https://www.nature.com/articles/ni.3160 ; Nature Medicine, 2013: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3954721/ ), in identifying the vulnerabilities specific to malignant lymphocytes. Her laboratory is funded by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS): https://www.lls.org/content/induction-of-immunological-memory-to-target-myc-driven-lymphomas , the American Society of Hematology (ASH): https://www.hematology.org/Awards/Award-Recipients/2119.aspx , and City of Hope. City of Hope is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability. #HemOncPostdoc #SwaminathanLab

Keywords: City of Hope, Los Angeles , Postdoctoral Fellow - Hematology-Oncology and Immunology, Healthcare , Monrovia, California