Postdoctoral Senior Fellow

University of Washington
Seattle, WA

The Nghiem Lab (Medicine/Dermatology, UW Medicine South Lake Union) is a moderately sized, diverse lab with basic, translational, and clinical research projects. A major focus for the lab is Merkel cell carcinoma, an uncommon but frequently lethal skin cancer associated with immune suppression, UV exposure, and the Merkel cell polyomavirus (see www.merkelcell.org). We are in the Department of Medicine, Division of Dermatology and the Department of Pathology at the University of Washington. Due to our location in South Lake Union, there is opportunity for participation in the fast paced and exciting immunotherapy research community thriving in the area.

A position for a full-time Postdoctoral Senior Fellow (Job class code 0445) on a 12-month, annual appointment is available to study correlates of immune checkpoint inhibitor (anti-PD-1, -PD-L1 antibody) responses and changes in the tumor microenvironment during immune therapy in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). This position is partly supported by a special challenge grant from the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the Kelsey Dickson Team Science Courage Research Award. The successful candidate will expand the knowledge of cancer immune correlates in patients who do and do not respond to immune checkpoint therapy by utilizing our unique Merkel cell carcinoma specimen repository that includes fresh tumor tissue, preserved tumor tissue, blood and serum in combination with patient outcomes and clinical information. Furthermore, this position requires close collaboration with Dr David Koelle, an expert in skin resident T cell immunobiology (https://depts.washington.edu/daid/directory/koelle.html) and Dr Aude Chapuis, an expert in adoptive T cell transfer (https://www.fredhutch.org/en/labs/profiles/chapuis-aude.html) with whom we have an ongoing clinical trial (https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01758458?term=NCT01758458).
This position requires a self-motivated and detail-oriented individual who is eager to engage with a multi-disciplinary team in basic and translational research. We believe this position will serve as superb training in translational research and tumor immunology. There are opportunities for direct patient interaction & patient samples will be associated with outcomes/molecular studies.

Technical responsibilities:

• Sterile culture of primary human and established cell lines, multi-color flow cytometry, ELISA and ELISpot.
• Experience with transfection and transduction of primary cells as well as generation of lentiviral vectors
• Cell culture proliferation and cell death assays.
• General molecular techniques (PCR, DNA extraction, electrophoresis)
  Intellectual responsibilities:
• Develop conclusions and hypotheses relevant to the aims of research projects in the lab.
• Present research results at laboratory meetings, professional meetings and through publications.
• Possess excellent communication skills in oral and written English.
• Contribute materials for grant submissions, Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPR) and document results routinely and carefully in lab notebooks.
• Interact collaboratively in a team environment with both the basic scientific and clinical research teams.

Requirements:

An MD or PhD in cancer/tumor biology or immunology or foreign equivalent is prefered but we will consider other training on a case-by-case basis. Preference will be given to applicants who have hands-on experience in tumor microenvironment, tumor immunology and/or T cell receptor biology. The applicant must also have a strong desire to apply for individual fellowships and grants.

Salary will commensurate with experience based on NIH and University of Washington guidelines. Applicants should submit a letter of interest, CV, publication list and three potential references to:

Kristina Stafstrom
Nghiem Lab
242 Brotman Building
850 Republican Street
Seattle, WA 98195-8050
kcs27@uw.edu

University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.