08 Postdoctoral Fellowship at National Jewish Health, Denver, United States

The Reinhardt Lab in the Department of Immunology and Genomic Medicine at National Jewish Health in Denver is seeking a motivated Postdoctoral Research Fellow with an interest in adaptive and innate immunity. Projects in the lab span interests related to type 2 inflammation, parasitic infection, chronic lung disease, and autoimmune/autoinflammatory conditions. Applicants are expected to work well with others in a highly collaborative environment making contributions across multiple projects in addition to driving their own research program. Candidates must have experience or a willingness to learn techniques related to both mouse and human immune models. Expertise in molecular biology, flow cytometry, fluorescent microscopy, cell culture, mouse genetics, and bioinformatics is strongly valued. We encourage anyone with a strong work ethic, high resilience, good communication skills, and desire to learn and make an impact with their science should apply. In particular, candidates that bring novel experiences, backgrounds, training and perspectives are highly valued.

Dr. Hisert is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to work on a project investigating the interactions of macrophages with various CF airway pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and nontuberculous mycobacteria. The project involves isolation of cells from human blood, tissue culture, bacterial culture of BSL2 organisms, and infection of human cells. The project may also involve flow cytometry, immunoblotting, and animal models of disease. Success will require knowledge of innate immunity, microbiology, and host pathogen interactions. A strong background in at least one of these three areas is essential.  This position will help prepare the postdoctoral fellow for an independent academic research career. The fellow will have opportunities to help develop new research projects, lead and collaborate on manuscripts with a multidisciplinary team, receive mentored grant-writing experience, mentor team members including graduate students, and present research at national meetings. The fellow will also have opportunities to develop their own research program through pilot work and/or grants. Fellows can also take advantage of the many workshops, seminars, and other trainings offered at National Jewish Health.

It is increasingly recognized that maternal environmental exposures and health status impact on fetal and neonatal immune systems, shaping offspring susceptibility to immune-mediated diseases, including allergies and asthma. Childhood asthma positively associates with maternal stress and maternal exposure to air pollutants, and negatively, with maternal exposure to microbes present in the farming environment.  Mechanisms how maternal environment and health status affect the offspring immune system and predisposition to asthma are unclear. Dr. Gorska’s lab is focused on addressing these knowledge gaps. The goals of the lab are to define maternal information that is gained and transmitted to offspring or lost and not transferred to offspring, elucidate routes of information transfer (placenta, breast milk, gametes), delineate offspring cells and pathways that are programmed by this information, and study how these cells and pathways contribute to the development of asthma. The lab has particular interest in cells and pathways of the immune system. The translational goals are to identify early-life biomarkers of predisposition to asthma in humans and define molecular targets for development of preventive drugs. 

The successful applicant will join a new project focused on investigating the mechanisms linking mis-expression of the mucin MUC5B in the distal lung and terminal bronchioles to fibroblast accumulation and activation in the context of persistent lung fibrosis. Most of the experimental work will be with a mouse model of lung fibrosis, with translational studies being conducted using primary human lung cells and tissues. The project will require a strong background in mouse breeding, multi-parameter flow cytometry, preparation of tissues and pathophysiologic assessments of lung disease, and basic laboratory skills including cell culture, RNA isolation, Western blotting and fluorescence microscopy. A basic understanding of bioinformatic approaches to analyze big RNA-sequencing data sets is desirable. Post-doctoral Associates in our lab are offered opportunities for academic career advancement through mentorship, writing, attending workshops, by presenting their work at national meetings and by seeking extramural funding. Successful applicants will have a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in a relevant field, and quality publications in peer-reviewed journal. 

The Majka Lab at National Jewish Health and is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join their innovative team studying lung stem cell fate and function. Our lab has discovered and characterized a novel population of resident lung mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in murine and human systems. Research efforts are focused on understanding how these stem cells regulate tissue homeostasis as well as remodeling at the expense of repair during chronic lung disease. Training on specific techniques used in the laboratory will be provided. General techniques utilized in the lab include:  in vivo and in vitro modeling of stem cell fate and function, flow cytometry, cell culture, measuring physiology, confocal & 2-photon microscopy and molecular biology (PCR, Western blots, transfections, etc.)

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the laboratory of Irina Petrache, MD, in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine at National Jewish Health, in Denver, CO. 
 Our research focuses on mechanisms of lung injury and repair in the pathogenesis of lung diseases. Our goal is to identify therapeutic targets for diseases caused by exposures to cigarette smoke, vaping, and respiratory viral infections, such as COPD/emphysema, pulmonary hypertension, and ARDS. Our research projects employ complementary approaches including molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, pulmonary patho-physiological assessment of small animal models of disease, and translational approaches using human cohorts. Postdoctoral fellows in our laboratory are encouraged and mentored to apply for extramural funding and provided with opportunity to teach, write manuscripts, and present data at international conferences. Ideal candidates should have a strong background in molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, or pathophysiological models. Successful applicants should have a PhD, MD/PhD in a relevant field and quality publications in peer-reviewed journals. 

The Seibold Laboratory is a cutting-edge, NIH funded, laboratory focused on elucidating the pathobiological basis of asthma and other complex lung and allergic diseases. Our goal is to discover pathobiological subgroups of disease (termed disease endotypes) and the genetic, environmental, and immune factors driving their development. We are accomplishing these goals through the integration of genomic endotyping studies of large patient cohorts with in vitro mechanistic studies of human organoid culture models. Ultimately, we will leverage the information gained from our research to develop precision medicine approaches for the diagnosis, management, and treatment of these diseases. The Seibold Laboratory is composed of a multi-disciplinary team of “wet lab” cell, airway, and molecular biologists integrated with “dry lab” computational biologists, bioinformaticians, and statistical geneticists.