About City of Hope

City of Hope is an independent biomedical research and treatment organization for cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening diseases.

Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a leader in bone marrow transplantation and immunotherapy such as CAR T cell therapy. City of Hope’s translational research and personalized treatment protocols advance care throughout the world. Human synthetic insulin, monoclonal antibodies and numerous breakthrough cancer drugs are based on technology developed at the institution. AccessHope™, a subsidiary launched in 2019 serves employers and their health care partners by providing access to City of Hope’s specialized cancer expertise.

A National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, City of Hope is ranked among the nation’s “Best Hospitals” in cancer by U.S. News & World Report and received Magnet Recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Its main campus is located near Los Angeles, with additional locations throughout Southern California and in Arizona.

City of Hope’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We believe diversity, equity and inclusion is key in serving our mission to provide compassionate patient care, drive innovative discovery, and advance vital education focused on eliminating cancer and diabetes in all our communities. Our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ensures we bring the full range of skills, perspectives, cultural backgrounds, and experiences to our work and that our teams align with the people we serve to build trust and understanding. We are dedicated to fostering a community that embraces diversity - in ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives; this is reflected in our work and represented in our people.

Position Summary

A Postdoctoral Fellowship opportunity is immediately available for a highly motivated individual in the laboratory of Dr. Larry Kwak, at the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, a prestigious NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Candidate Project Specifications

· He/She will study whether individual patient-specific vaccines induce sustained memory T cell responses and epitope spread in lymphoma patients.

o Identify and prioritize new target antigens (neoantigens) for novel cancer vaccine therapies and conduct novel mechanism studies.

o Develop, optimize, and validate cell-based assays to evaluate tumor-specific T cells using pre/post DNA vaccine patient samples.

o Analyze human immunological responses, including co-culture assays of antigen presenting cells (APC) and T cells, via FLOW cytometry, ELISpot, and ELISA; assist in new assay development and technological advancements to query vaccine function and effectiveness.

Skills that are used in the lab include:

· Mammalian cell culture.

· Primary human cell (BM and PBMC) culture and handling.

· Multi-color FLOW cytometry.

· ELISA

· Cell-Sorting.

· Co-Culture Functional Assays.

· DNA Cloning, PCR, RT-PCR, qPCR, and RNA synthesis and purification

· T cell isolation, expansion, differentiation, and killing assays.

· T cell cytokine secretion and cytotoxicity assays.

· Familiar with novel single-cell RNA sequencing technologies and analysis pipelines.

· Familiar with Whole Exome Sequencing (WES).

· Familiar with scATAC sequencing.

Basic education, experience, and skills required for consideration:

· Ph.D. degree with research experience; a track record of publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

· Strong background in immune-oncology, vaccinology and/or immunology.

· Strong molecular biology skills, including DNA cloning, PCR, RT-PCR, qPCR, & RNA purification.

· Expertise in multi-parameter FLOW cytometry.

· Expertise in cell-based assays (e.g. co-culture functional assays, multi-color flow cytometry, ELISA, cell sorting, etc.)

· Experience executing primary immune cell assays and mechanism of action studies (T cell isolation, expansion, cytokine secretion assays, T cell differentiation, T cell killing assay etc).

· Excellent communication skills with the ability to work independently and as part of a team.

· Highly motivated and self-directed applicants interested in translational research in cancer immunotherapy are strongly encouraged to apply. However, applicants with related training and experience will be given priority.

Additional Information:

As a condition of employment, City of Hope requires staff to comply with all state and federal vaccination mandates.

For more scientific background, please refer to our publications:

o Science 2002 Nov 1; 298(5595):1025-9:

o Nature Medicine 2005 Sep; 11(9): 986-91

o Blood 2009 Nov 5;114(19):4142-9

o BMC Cancer 2018 Feb 13;18(1):

o Blood volume 136, Supplement 1 2020 Nov; https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2020-140007