Summary

A postdoctoral position is immediately available in the Barbieri laboratory to study the molecular mechanisms regulating tumor initiation and progression in neuroblastoma, a pediatric cancer arising from sympatho-adrenal neural crest cells. The lab aims at understanding how MYCN drives undifferentiated, chemo-refractory, and metabolically distinct tumors, and developing novel approaches to intervention for high-risk MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma. Specifically, the lab is focused on the study of how MYCN interacts with specific epigenetic factors - such as CHAF1A - to drive oncogenesis, with particular emphasis on epigenetics, transcriptional regulation, cell differentiation and metabolism (Moreno-Smith et al. Nature Communications 2021; Tao et al. Advanced Science 2021; Tao et al. Nature Communications 2022). The candidate will use a combination of various cell and molecular biology approaches (including CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, metabolomics and metabolic tracing), as well as different tumors models (transgenic, xenograft/PDX and syngeneic) and neural crest models to elucidate the epigenetic changes induced by MYCN and CHAF1A during neuroblastoma initiation and progression.

Job Duties

• Designs and performs experimental studies that directly answer the above research questions, using both in vitro systems and animal models.
• Collects and analyzes data to present at national/international meetings.
• Prepares manuscripts for publication.
• Applies for external fellowships.
• Mentors junior lab members.

Minimum Qualifications

• MD or Ph.D. in Basic Science, Health Science, or a related field.
• No experience required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior first author publications.
• Strong background in cancer biology, epigenetics, cell and molecular biology, mouse models of cancer, and cancer cell metabolism.
• Candidates should be highly motivated to pursue an independent career in biomedical research.