美国德克萨斯大学安德森癌症中心射线肿瘤学方面博士后

Job Description

The major focus of our laboratory is to investigate hypoxia regulated signaling pathways that contribute to tumor growth and resistance to anti-cancer therapy. Our laboratory has shown that the IRE1alpha-XBP1 pathway, a key component of the unfolded protein response (UPR), was activated by stress signals in the tumor microenvironment, such as hypoxia. Since identifying IRE1alpha-XBP1 as a potential therapeutic target in cancer, our laboratory has completed a high throughput small molecule screen of >120,000 compounds for inhibitors of this pathway and identified a class of compounds that selectively inhibit the endoribonuclease activity of IRE1alpha and demonstrate potent anti-cancer activity (Papandreou et al., Blood 2010; Jiang et al., Mol Cancer Ther 2016). To further accelerate the preclinical evaluation of other compounds targeting this pathway, we also developed an XBP1-luciferase transgenic mouse in which luciferase activity is detectable only when XBP1 is activated (Spiotto et al., Cancer Res 2009). In addition, the laboratory has completed a genome wide siRNA screen to identify other genes that are required for the activation of IRE1alpha (Yang et al., Mol Cancer Res 2017). Studies investigating the mechanisms of IRE1alpha activation will lead to the development of novel cancer therapeutics targeting this pathway. More recently, our laboratory has developed several computational biology methods of analyzing the drug screening data to improve the efficiency of drug discovery (Jiang et al. Jiang et al., Mol Cancer Ther 2016; Alagappan et al. Adv Exp Med Biol 2016), as well as novel application of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning approaches in drug discovery (Yuan et al. J Chem Inf Model 2017).

Our latest research projects include:

(1) Studying the role of IRE1alpha/XBP1 in tumor progression and chemo-/radio-resistance, using in vitro cell culture and organoid systems as well as in vivo xenograft and genetically modified mouse tumor models.
(2) The IRE1alpha/XBP1 pathway in inducing immunogenic cell death during anti-tumor treatment.
(3) The development of biomarkers that may be used to guide therapeutic decisions in pancreatic cancer (Danai et al., Nature 2018; Qian et al., JAMA Oncol 2018). 

Postdoc candidates should possess mastery of basic knowledge and techniques in molecular & cell biology, biochemistry, and mouse genetics. Knowledge and hands-on experience in immunology research would be a plus. The candidates should also be highly motivated in learning new techniques and independent thinking. The salary will follow the NIH postdoc salary guideline.

Responsibilities:
• Use cutting-edge methods to seek novel cancer therapy targets in mouse or human cells
• Be responsible for the design and execution of experimental work, data analysis and their written records
• Attend and present at internal and external meetings
• Be expected to publish data in top scientific journals

Job requirements:
• PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology, Biochemistry or related field obtained within three years
• Outstanding publication record.
• Prior experience in genetic mouse models is preferred.
• Prior experience in in vitro & in vivo immunological assays and flow cytometry analysis is a plus.
• Basic skills in data analysis using e.g. Excel and GraphPad Prism is required.
• Excellent communication with a focus on teamwork is required.

Please send a letter of intent, curriculum vitae, names and addresses of three to five references to:

Albert Koong, Professor and Chair (akoong@mdanderson.org, https://faculty.mdanderson.org/profiles/albert_koong.html)

or

Dadi Jiang, Assistant Professor (djiang2@mdanderson.org)