A leading academic research lab at the Genomic Sciences Centre is seeking a motivated and skilled Post-Doctoral Fellow to join its team This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to impactful research focused on improving healthcare access, efficiency, equity, and evidence generation. The successful candidate will work on a research project that seeks to define the functional role of a protein normally associated with immune cells in colorectal cancer cells.
Advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) is a significant clinical problem. These patients have a survival rate less than 20% and the majority of tumors do not respond to conventional therapies. The programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint is normally associated with the immune system but is also intrinsically expressed by some CRC tumours. CRC patients with high expression levels of PD-1 have inferior survival rates and their tumors have higher mutation and microsatellite instability levels. PD-1 high CRC tumors also over-express proteins associated with an aggressive phenotype favoring tumor survival. The goal of this project is to evaluate the role of tumor cell-intrinsic PD-1 in CRC and understand its impact on current therapeutic strategies in CRC.
The aims of the project are to:
Characterize the signaling networks of cell-intrinsic PD-1 and define how the protein regulates cancer cell survival and resistance to chemotherapy Define the molecular interaction of cell-intrinsic PD-1 with immune cells and/or stemcells in the tumor stroma.Key Responsibilities:
Designing cell libraries for high-throughput screening experiments. Performing Western Blots to validate cell signaling networks Performing immuno-precipitation of binding partners to PD-1 Characterizing and validating novel discoveries stemming from gene screening studies including scRNA sequencing. Participating in the analysis of global proteomic assays Reporting research methods and results in meetings. Contributing to the scientific advancement of the PD-1-CRC project by developing new research directions related to PD-1 activity in CRC tumors. Contributing to scientific publications, patents, and funding proposals as needed.Qualifications:
PhD and recent experience in immunology, genomics, cancer biology, cell biology, or a related discipline. Experience in recombinant DNA technologies and viral gene delivery vectors, mammalian cell culture (including primary T cell culture), flow cytometry/FACS, and cell-based assays (such as ELISPOT) is desired. Familiarity with 2nd and 3rd generation DNA sequencing platforms (including spatial single-cell sequencing platforms) and bioinformatics analysis will be an asset. Demonstrated ability to conduct independent, applied research Strong analytic background in quantitative or qualitative methods Experience with administrative data and/or stated preference methods Excellent writing and communication skills with a publication record in peer-reviewed journals Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to work both independently and collaboratively strong publication record and a track record of success in objective-based research projects are highly desirable. Due to the translational nature of this research project, an interest or aptitude for developing novel technologies, therapeutic strategies and/or commercialization would be a valuable asset.To apply directly to the job ad and please submit a cover letter, CV, and a brief description of your research interests (½ to 1 page).