Research Postdoctoral Fellow - Cancer Immunotherapy

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A Brief Overview
Under the direction/guidance of a mentor (principal investigator), assumes responsibility for a specific, on-going research project. The experience will serve to extend, refine and enhance skills necessary for professional and career development, and will enable the individual to broaden his/her scientific background by acquiring new research capabilities. It is expected that this individual will conduct independent scholarly research, and will contribute directly to the overall research goals of the project and the research group.

This role will be expected to participate in project planning, recording and interpretation/evaluation of data, and communication of results. This position will also be expected to acquire technical, lab management, and manuscript/grant writing skills; and participate in seminars, lectures, poster sessions and presentations at national meetings. This role also may be required to supervise junior lab members, develop new methods and protocols for research, and assist with the development of other research projects in the lab.

About the Laboratory

The postdoctoral fellow (postdoc) will conduct translational pediatric cancer biology, genomics, and immuno-oncology research under the direction/guidance of Dr. Kris Bosse at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn).

Dr. Bosse's laboratory is focused on understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms driving neuroblastoma tumorigenesis and developing new therapies, including immunotherapeutic strategies, for this and other aggressive pediatric cancers (see Bosse et al., Cancer Cell, 2017; Raman et al., Cell Reports Medicine, 2021; Heitzeneder et al., Cancer Cell, 2022; Pascual-Pasto et al, JITC, 2022, Foster et al, JITC, 2022, Pascual-Pasto et al, Nature Communications, 2024 and Pascual-Pasto et al, Clinical Cancer Research, 2024 as examples). The postdoc will join a growing translational research team based in his laboratory. Several opportunities exist to work in collaboration with several other laboratories at CHOP/UPenn and at 10 other institutions as part of the St. Baldricks-Stand Up To Cancer Immunogenomics Team in developing and validating new immunotherapeutic strategies for pediatric cancers. Multiple specific projects exist under this umbrella designed to discover and develop novel, impactful new immune-based therapies for children with cancer. Available projects include (but are not limited to) translating current immunotherapies in the lab across pediatric cancers, new immunotherapeutic target discovery in neuroblastoma and other pediatric cancers, next-generation chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) development, defining mechanisms of tumor cell intrinsic and extrinsic immune escape, deciphering the key biologic functions of prioritized immunotherapeutic targets, dual antigen immunotherapeutic targeting, CAR vaccination approaches, and correlative biology studies from ongoing clinical trials that developed from work done in the Bosse laboratory. The Bosse laboratory is also interested in utilizing syngeneic neuroblastoma models to define critical synergistic CAR T cell and ADC therapeutic combinations that can be translated to the clinic. Other opportunities are available in the laboratory to explore and define the underlying mechanisms of therapeutic resistance and disease progression in neuroblastoma utilizing data acquired from the serial profiling of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in this disease (see Bosse et al., Cancer Discovery, 2022 as an example). Key putative genomic mechanisms of therapeutic resistance have been identified that are primed for functional validation studies. Cancer and molecular biology experience are required, and familiarity with advanced genomic and immuno-oncology techniques and methods, as well as experience with in vivo mouse models, are preferred skills. This job is open to those seeking first or second post-docs.

What you will do

• Conduct independent scholarly research and develop new methods and protocols
• Participate in project planning, recording and evaluation of data
• Acquire technical, lab management and grant writing skills
• Participate in seminars, lectures, poster sessions and presentation at national meetings
• Supervise junior lab members
• Assist with other research projects

Education Qualifications

• Doctorate - Required

Skills and Abilities

• Ability to wear a respirator device

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SALARY RANGE:

Salary ranges are shown for full-time jobs. If you're working part-time, your pay will be adjusted accordingly.

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