22 Postdoctoral Fellowship at Wayne State University, Michigan, United States

A postdoctoral fellow position is available in the laboratory of Dr. Hanaa Hariri to study molecular and cellular mechanisms of fatty acid metabolism. Fatty acids are essential molecules for a broad range of cellular processes including lipid signaling, biological membranes, and energy metabolism; however, they are toxic to cells when present in excess. Dysregulation of fatty acid metabolism is a hallmark of devastating chronic human pathologies including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. The Hariri lab is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms that spatially regulate fatty acid flux at organelle contact sites.

The research focus spans several disciplines from commercial insulin evaluation, biomaterial characterization to pathology and immunology, there are also opportunities to develop independent projects aligning with the broad goals of the Klueh laboratory, a multi-disciplinary team who also frequently collaborate with industry and clinical partners. Candidates will have the opportunity to be involved in pre-clinical porcine studies to evaluate insulin infusion site failures or other diabetes management devices, (e.g. continuous glucose monitors), if desired. Recent graduates and postdoctoral fellows in the Klueh laboratory have successfully acquired desirable positions in industry and academia.

Applications are invited for a postdoctoral fellowship position within the Biomechanics Section of the Bone and Joint Center Research Laboratories at Henry Ford Health System (Detroit, MI). The successful applicant will initially be involved with DOD-funded clinical projects focused on assessment of bone quality using new methods based on digital tomosynthesis imaging, and identifying strategies for successful implementation.

The candidate will also be expected to advance existing projects as well as develop and lead new projects. Support for career development will be available for motivated individuals. The Bone & Joint Center is a multidisciplinary research team with expertise in a range of orthopaedic disciplines including cell/molecular biology, genomics, biomechanics, and imaging. Scientists in the Bone & Joint Center have a strong history of collaboration with the Departments of Orthopedic Surgery, Rheumatology, Radiology, Public Health Science, and Endocrinology at Henry Ford Health System.

The main focus of the Aras lab is to characterize the mitochondrian—nuclear cross talk and their contributions to breast cancer cell growth and metastasis. Techniques in molecular biology and biochemistry, including cell culture as well animal models, are used to address research goals.

A postdoctoral research fellow position is available in Dr. Yaoxian Huang’s lab in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering within the College of Engineering at Wayne State University. The prospective postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for conducting a research project to quantify the impacts of global/regional air pollution on atmospheric chemistry, air quality, human health and climate change, using state-of-the-science chemical transport models, epidemiological models and biostatistics. The postdoctoral fellow will have the opportunities to collaborate with scientists from Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at Wayne State University, Henry Ford Health System, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. 

The laboratory of Xiying Guan is recruiting a postdoctoral fellow to work on bone-conduction hearing mechanisms. During bone-conduction stimulation, the skull vibration simultaneously stimulates the middle and the inner ear, challenging our ability to understand the underlying mechanisms. We investigate how sound pressures are generated in the cochlea and how the cochlear traveling waves are formed in bone-conduction. We perform intracochlear measurements of sound pressures and vibrations in human cadaveric ears. We develop circuit network models and finite element models to assist data analysis.

We are developing cutting-edge analysis methods in the areas of multi-omics data integration, pathway analysis, subtype discovery, clinical trial optimization, and meta-analysis. Our group has been at the forefront of these areas of research for more than 15 years. The methods we developed are applied to investigate problems related to perinatology including the great obstetrical syndromes, cancer, and other diseases. We leverage a close collaboration with the National Institute of Health’s Perinatology Research Branch. Our research has been funded by multiple grants from NSF, NIH and other major funding sources.

A postdoctoral position is available immediately in the laboratories of Drs. Melissa Runge-Morris and Thomas Kocarek at the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors, Integrative Biosciences Center (IBio), Wayne State University, to work on an NIH grant-supported project to study the mechanisms controlling developmental expression of liver gene expression, with particular focus on cytosolic sulfotransferase family of drug- and endogenous molecule-metabolizing enzymes, in experimental models of human hepatocyte differentiation.

Projects comprise of multiple population-based studies including the Sperm Environmental Epigenetics and Development Study (SEEDS), which has been enrolling couples seeking in vitro fertilization (IVF) to understand the associations between preconception paternal exposures to endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), such as phthalates, sperm epigenetics, and embryo development. In parallel to our human studies, we are examining embryonic inheritance of sperm epigenetics after preconception environmental exposures in male mice. Lastly, we are investigating the role of the environment on sncRNA expression of extracellular vesicles from human seminal plasma. Together, these projects utilize a variety of locus-specific and next-generation techniques such as RNA-seq, RRBS, and WGBS, as well as EPIC arrays in human and mouse sperm and mouse embryos. Opportunities for postdoc-driven independent research are also possible.

The laboratory of James Granneman at Wayne State University School of Medicine has positions available for postdoctoral fellows in the area of metabolic disease research. Research will be conducted in the new Integrative Bioscience Center (https://ibio.wayne.edu/), which contains state of-the-art facilities and a highly collaborative research environment. Two NIHfunded research programs are currently being pursued:

1) Analysis of lipolytic protein trafficking. This project uses novel pharmacological, genetic, and biophysical tools to investigate evolutionarily-conserved mechanism of lipolysis in adipose tissue, muscle, liver and cancer cells (Cell Metabolism 22:852, 2015; J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 363:367, 2017; Mol Metab 7:57. 2017).
2) Analysis of cellular plasticity in adipose tissues. This project uses genetic tracing, histology, and single cell functional genomics to address mechanism of cellular plasticity and function in adipose tissues (Cell Metabolism 28:300, 2018; FASEB J 29:286, 2015; Cell Metabolism 18:355, 2013)

Two postdoctoral fellow positions are immediately available in the laboratory of Dr. Shengyi (Iris) Sun, an assistant professor at the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. The main focus of the Sun lab is to delineate the physiological significance and underlying molecular mechanism of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated protein degradation (ERAD) machinery in health and disease, with a special focus on the regulation of liver homeostasis. The lab uses interdisciplinary state-of-the-art approaches, powered by cell type-specific mouse models and CRISPR technology, to address the important questions.

We study cell division mechanisms using C. elegans as a model organism. Our main R01 funded project seeks to characterize novel functions of separase during cytokinesis. We use multiple advanced live cell imaging techniques, including lattice light sheet and an in house spinning disk. We also use genetics, CRISPR, and biochemistry to explore how mechanisms of cell division operate in a developmental context. We recently moved to the C.S. Mott Center at Wayne State University and are affiliated with an oocyte biology research group. This group has expertise and interest in mammalian systems including human, which will be a great opportunity for potential future collaborations to translate our research into mammalian systems. Come join our team!

The project is an intervention study investigating the impact of therapeutic mild intermittent hypoxia on autonomic and motor dysfunction in participants with a spinal cord injury and sleep apnea.

A postdoctoral position is open at the Roberts Lab at Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University. This individual will work as part of a team of a chemist, biologist, and imagers seeking to harness the power of nuclear medicine for therapy and track its therapeutic responses using optoacoustics. The lab focuses on novel imaging techniques and new sensor technologies. More information on the Roberts lab can be found on their website. We seek to recruit a postdoctoral scholar that will develop imaging strategies, microscopy work in vitro and in vivo animal work. The Roberts Lab is new and seeks to cultivate an interactive, pro-active and supportive environment. Ideal candidates will be self-driven, curious, organized, responsible and collegial.

A postdoctoral position is open at the Roberts Lab at Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University. This individual will work as part of a team of a chemist, biologist, and imagers seeking to harness the power of nuclear medicine for therapy and track its therapeutic responses using optoacoustics. The lab focuses on novel imaging techniques and new sensor technologies. 

Research in the Ichinose Lab is in the field of vision and neuroscience. They use the mouse retina as a model system to investigate neural networks and physiological functions and have the State-of-the-Art two-photon microscope as well as patch-clamp rigs to examine synaptic connections and neural excitations.

Our research is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of diabetic retinopathy, especially, the role of mitochondrial homeostasis, and of epigenetic modifications in maintaining the homeostasis.

A postdoctoral fellowship position is immediately available to study the role of interleukins and caspase signaling in vascular wall remodeling and pathological angiogenesis. Experience in two or more of the following areas is preferred: Cloning, protein-protein interactions, confocal microscopy/live-cell imaging, atherosclerosis, and pathological retinal angiogenesis.vCandidate with publications as first authors in peer-reviewed journals is preferred.

A postdoctoral position is available in the laboratory of Guangde Jiang, Ph.D., focusing on biocatalysis and protein engineering. The primary research objective is to explore enzymes from diverse origins to discover novel biocatalysts for synthesizing pharmaceutically relevant compounds and to create structural diversity of small molecules for drug discovery.

The fellow will be involved in studies, which are aimed at understanding G protein-mediated signaling mechanisms underlying islet beta-cell function in health and diabetes. Specifically, these investigations will assess roles of G proteins and their regulatory factors in physiological insulin secretion, and potential abnormalities in these signaling modules in beta-cell models of impaired insulin secretion and diabetes.

The Lipchik Group investigates how the immune system senses and coordinates its response to inflammation. A stint in the lab, located in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, provides training for careers in academia (graduate school, medical school) or builds entrepreneurial and technical skills for biotech and pharma.

The use of immunoglobulin as an anti-inflammatory therapy was first discovered in 1981 when thrombocytopenia was treated with high-dose intravenous IgG (IVIG). Since then, IVIG has been shown to be therapeutically efficacious in over 100 different diseases. IVIG has many ideal therapeutic properties but suffers from several limitations, including the dependency on a human source and a prohibitively high dose (1-2 g/kg) requirement. Despite the known benefits of IVIG therapy, there have been limited advancements in the design, manufacturing, or formulation of IgG as an anti-inflammatory therapy. The lab will address this need by devising multiple innovative strategies to engineer recombinant immunoglobulins with enhanced therapeutic properties to reduce the required dosage and circumvent the need for a human source. These strategies include mutations for specific Fc receptor binding, self-assembled multimers of IgG for higher avidity, and the introduction of novel mutations for co-receptor engagement and activation with other biomolecules. The efficiency of these new formulations will be applied to classic models of inflammation and autoimmunity. This approach offers an innovative, scalable therapy to treat the 100 conditions where IVIG is effective.