Postdoctoral Fellow : Philadelphia, PA, United States

The Good lab at the University of Pennsylvania is accepting applications for postdoctoral fellows with expertise in at least two of the following areas: Protein Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Synthetic Biology, Biophysics

Overview
Our group is investigating the role of cell size in embryo patterning and development. We are interested in how organelle assembly, signaling and gene expression flexibly adapt to changes in cellular dimensions. We currently utilize two experimental approaches: 1) imaging and quantification of scaling trends during embryogenesis, a period during which cellular dimensions are rapidly reduced after fertilization, and 2) generation of synthetic, cell-like compartments with tunable size and shape, that combine cell-free cytoplasmic extracts and microfluidic droplet- and vesicle-generating technologies. These approaches, which leverage tools and techniques from cell and developmental biology, protein biochemistry and bioengineering, allow us to isolate the effects of cell size on intracellular assembly and function. Our broad aims are to describe how cell size functions as a control parameter in biology, uncover how intracellular structures adapt to extreme cell sizes, and determine the links between size misregulation and disease. Along the way we hope to develop new tools to control the spatial organization of components inside cells, and minimal systems in which to interrogate complex cellular processes in vitro.

Requirements
• Must have earned or will soon receive a Ph.D. in a field of science related to this posting.
• Previous experience with: Protein biochemistry, microscopy, image analysis, and cell-free systems is desirable. 
• Expected to be highly independent and creative, with history of first-author research publications.