Postdoctoral Research Scientist

The Opportunity:

An immediate Postdoctoral Research Scientist position is available in the laboratory of Dr. Sebastian A. Riquelme at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York. The mission of Dr. Riquelme lab is to understand how metabolism impacts the outcome of infectious diseases. We apply cutting-edge OMICs technologies, such as single-cell RNA-Seq, dual RNA-Seq, metabolomics, genome sequencing and proteomics to dissect host-pathogen crosstalk, putting emphasis on the immunometabolic pathways exploited by opportunists to thrive in the human lung. Our group studies Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial diseases, using both laboratory strains and clinical isolates obtained from the lung of acutely and chronically infected subjects. Our work is translational, employing both in vitro and in vivo models of infection to answer clinically relevant questions.

This opportunity to join the Department of Pediatrics at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons at the rank of Postdoctoral Research Scientist is an exciting one. Columbia University Irving Medical Center is one of the nation's foremost academic health science centers. The Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center is the top in comparison with other pediatrics department in the NY region in NIH research funding. Our institution represents the essence of New York, being a large, diverse, and multicultural community that encourages collaborative and innovative work. We are in close contact with many national and foreign laboratories with whom we hold interactive meetings that enrich even more the excellent academic environment found in our facilities. Postdoctoral scientists at Columbia University participate in several national and international conferences, which provides them with a unique opportunity to present their research, engage in collaborative work with peers, and gain valuable networking experience.

Key Responsibilities:

• To generate in vivo models of infection manipulating the function of regulatory T cells.
• To advance in the discovery of novel immunometabolic mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis.
• Work independently, in an organized fashion, and in collaboration with the rest of lab members.
• Conduct scientific research in a responsible manner following the institutional ethical guidelines.
• Design and execute experiments in a timely manner, as well as analyze and discuss the findings obtained in laboratory meetings. Ensure laboratory notebook is well organized and legible.
• Troubleshoot experiments when necessary, using reasonable approaches.
• Engage in scientific support to graduate students, summer scholars, and laboratory personnel when required.
• Actively write scientific manuscripts and funding applications.
• Present research data in national and international scientific meetings.
• Selected candidate will study how specific metabolic pathways in both host and pathogen influence the development of pneumonia.
• Other duties as required

• Must have a doctorate degree (Ph.D. or M.D.).
• Consistently strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build and sustain effective working relationships with professionals in other disciplines.
• The ability to create data-driven hypotheses, exploiting unbiased results for the generation of strong lines of research.
• To encourage both colleagues and staff to value each other's contributions.
• The ability to share and celebrate success with colleagues and staff.

Preffered Qualificatios:

• Applicants interested in this position should hold a recent PhD degree in Immunology, Microbiology, Cell Biology or related area.
• The candidate will have a solid foundation in regulatory T cell (Treg) immunity, infectious diseases, and immunometabolism.
• Applicants should have advanced training in both cell culture and bacterial culture.
• Technical expertise required includes multicolor flow cytometry, T cell purification, co-culture assays, qRT-PCR, ELISA, RNA-Seq, Seahorse assays and western blot.
• Experience with in vivo models manipulating regulatory T cell function.
• Experience with pneumonia models of infection and generation of mutant bacteria is advantageous.
• Training in bioinformatic analysis of big datasets, such as single-cell RNA-Seq transcriptomics, genomics, and metabolomics is valuable, but not essential.

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