Post Doctoral.Post Doctoral.AssociateUniversity of Pittsburgh

One postdoctoral position is available in Dr. Stella Y. Sun's lab (https://sunlab.structbio.pitt.edu/) at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. We are seeking an enthusiastic postdoctoral fellow to study the cilia or flagella biogenesis, evolutionarily conserved across protists to mammals, and their protein trafficking process. Their biomedical significance underlies by their important roles in ciliopathies, causing numerous human diseases, leading to various model organisms to study its assembly process. Trypanosoma brucei (T. brucei), a single celled-parasite which causes African sleeping sickness, has been an emerging model organism to study the flagella biogenesis. As a model system, molecular and genetic manipulation, such as inducible expression and RNAi, allows rapid characterization of protein functions in T. brucei. My lab is dedicated to the protein function, protein-protein interaction, and structural determination of cellular machinery in single-celled parasites by using molecular and cell biology with allied advanced imaging techniques such as expansion microscopy and cryo-EM. With the advanced imaging techniques, we can visualize the organization of cellular structures and their coordination in 3D spatial organization through a multi-scale imaging platform ranging from microns to nanometers, to elucidate the molecular and structure functions that drive cell motility. Our laboratory is fully equipped for all aspects of molecular and cellular biology and has direct access to cryo-EM facility (https://www.structbio.pitt.edu/facilities/cryo-electron-microscopy-cryo-em), and other fluorescent imaging instrumentation in core facilities (http://www.researchimaging.pitt.edu/content/center-biologic-imaging).

Duties or Responsibilities

• Ability to design and perform experiments

• Ability to analyze and interpret experimental results

• Ability to use a collaborative approach to formulate alternative and creative solutions to problems

• Present research projects to internal and external meetings or workshops

• Engage in writing of publications and reports

• Assist with graduate student training

• Good communication with group leaders and members

Expectations or Standards

• Ph.D. or equivalent in molecular and parasite cell biology or cryo-EM related structural biology. This position is subject to the University's background check policy.

Opportunities Available

• Attendance of workshop, symposium, and conference will be supported

• Postdoctoral independent funding application will be encouraged

• Postdoctoral Career Development and Progress Assessment Process (https://www.oacd.health.pitt.edu/postdocs/postdoctoral-career-development-progress-assessment-process )

• Pittsburgh has great central locations, scenic views, and award-winning restaurants, offering a variety of events and things to do (https://www.visitpittsburgh.com/)

The University of Pittsburgh is an equal opportunity employer / disability / veteran.