The Laboratory of Dr. Shou-Jiang (SJ) Gao in the Cancer Virology Program (CVP) at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center is recruiting newly graduated, innovative, highly independent and motivated candidates with molecular and cellular biology background to fill in numerous Postdoctoral Positions. The Gao’s lab primarily studies oncogenic Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and its associated cancers. The lab has developed numerous infection models and used them to study the mechanisms of KSHV infection, replication, establishment of latency and induction of cancer. These works lead to the delineations of KSHV reprogramming of epigenome and epitranscriptome, rewiring of cellular metabolic pathways, evasion of innate immunity, and identification of novel therapeutic targets and agents. The lab has enjoyed a long history of collaboration with computational biologists, particularly Dr Yufei Huang, who is also in CVP, allowing the development of novel systems approaches for dissecting complex biological questions, including the recent development of novel analytic tools for spatially-resolved single cell transcriptomics. Recent works have also identified novel tumor suppressive functions of an arginine sensor CASTOR1, which regulates both tumor and immune cells. Ongoing works are examining the functions of CASTOR1 in other types of cancer including lung cancer and HPV-associated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and innate and adaptive immunity in models of colitis and colon cancer. The Hillman Cancer Center has a dynamic interactive environment and world-class investigators in cancer biology, virology, immunology and genomics. The Gao lab is also affiliated with the Department of Microbiology and Molecular genetics (MMG), which comprises 42 primary and 8 secondary faculty members with a focus on basic research in molecular biology, microbiology, virology, biochemistry, and developmental biology. In addition to driving independent research programs, investigators in the Hillman Cancer Center and MMG collaborate with scientists across all schools of the University of Pittsburgh and around the world on a wide range of fundamental and applied problems. The University has a broad range of basic and clinical research in microbiology, infectious diseases, and vaccinology. Other prominent entities among the Pitt microbiology community include the Center for Vaccine Research, Adult Infectious Diseases, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Infectious Diseases & Microbiology in the School of Public Health, and the Center for Medicine and the Microbiome. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is enjoying unparalleled growth in its research, clinical, and academic missions. The University ranks 3rd among educational institutions in NIH funding according to preliminary NIH RePORTER data. The Postdoctoral Fellows will receive world-class training and have the opportunity collaborating with diverse investigators. Applicants should have an excellent track-record with peer-reviewed publications, and possess a PhD, MD or equivalent degree. Candidates with relevant experiences are preferred. Please send CV and names of three references to Dr. Shou-Jiang Gao via e-mail at [email protected].

Qualifications or Expectations:

• Excellent track-record with peer-reviewed publications
• Highly independent and motivated
• Innovative
• Molecular and cellular biology background
• Newly graduated
• Possess a PhD, MD or equivalent degree

Opportunities Available:

• Attend Cancer Virology Program "Work In Progress" sessions
• Collaborate with scientists across all schools of the University of Pittsburgh and around the world
• Collaboration with computational biologists, particularly Dr. Yufei Huang
• Examining the functions of CASTOR1 in other types of cancer
• Receive world-class training and have the opportunity collaborating with diverse investigators
• Study oncogenic Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and its associated cancers
• Study the mechanisms of KSHV infection, replication, establishment of latency and induction of cancer

Duties or Responsibilities:

• Apply for fellowship, scholarship and other grants
• Assist the Principal Investigator (PI) in managing the lab
• Carry out independent projects to study the mechanisms of oncogenesis of viral and nonviral cancers
• Present at scientific conferences
• Publish scientific articles
• Train graduate students

For more info about this position, visit:https://hillmanresearch.upmc.edu/research/programs/cancer-virology/

Application Instructions:

Visit join.pitt.edu and View Requisition Number (23002742) to apply