Postdoctoral Scientist - T Cell Metabolism

Overview

Founded in 1946, the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) is among the nation’s oldest, most respected independent, nonprofit biomedical research institutes. OMRF is dedicated to understanding and developing more effective treatments for human diseases, focusing on critical research areas such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, and cardiovascular disease. OMRF follows an innovative cross-disciplinary approach to medical research and ranks among the nation’s leaders in patents per scientist.

 

Located in Oklahoma City, a city that offers a dynamic and flourishing downtown area, with low cost of living, short commute times and a diversified economy, OMRF has been voted one of the Top Workplaces since the inception of the award. This achievement has been accomplished thanks to OMRF individuals who share a unified understanding that our excellence can only be fully realized with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Successful candidates will demonstrate commitment to these values.

 

BenefitsWe offer competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits including, medical, dental, and vision insurance, minimum 8% company retirement contribution, vacation and sick leave, paid holidays, onsite café, free onsite fitness center with access to personal trainer, free parking and much more! Relocation assistance available for those located 50 miles outside of Oklahoma City metro and out of state. Learn more about our benefits here.

OMRF is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Veterans Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, color, national origin, age, religion, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic.

Responsibilities

The laboratory of Dr. Meng Zhao in the Arthritis and Clinical Immunology Research Program (ACI) at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Scientist to investigate the metabolic regulation of T cells in the pathogenesis of human diseases. The Postdoc’s project will focus on understanding the mechanistic interaction between metabolic remodeling and immune functions during the development of autoimmune, infectious diseases or cancer. The Postdoc will work with cutting edge resources including spectral flowcytometry, high resolution microscopy, novel genetically modified mouse models, metabolomic analysis, and single cell transcriptomic analysis.

 

Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation is one of the nation’s oldest and most respected nonprofit biomedical research institutes. OMRF has made The Scientist magazine’s annual list of the “Best Places to Work for Postdocs” for many years. The Arthritis and Clinical Immunology Research Program is the home base for one of only 10 Autoimmune Centers of Excellence (ACE) in the US. Apart from the close mentorship from Dr. Zhao, the Postdoc will benefit from departmental journal clubs, seminar series, and the expertise from diverse approaches in the program and the institute. Moreover, OMRF Postdoc Training Committee and Postdoc Association will provide additional resources and advice. Our collective goal is to help make the training experience at OMRF productive and successful.

 

Selected publications:

   -Zhao M*#, Quintana A*, Zhang C*, Andreyev AY*, Kiosses W, Kuwana T, Murphy A, Hogan PG#, Kronenberg M#. Calcium signals regulate the functional differentiation of thymic iNKT cells. EMBO J. 2021 Aug 16;40(16):e107901, PMID: 34169542 (* co-first authors, # co-corresponding        authors)

   -Zhao M*, Svensson M*, Venken K, Sethi A, Engel I, Day JD, Elewaut D, Bottini N, Kronenberg M. Altered thymic differentiation and modulation of arthritis by invariant NKT cells expressing mutant ZAP70. Nat. Communications. 2018 Jul 6. 9:262 (* co-first author) PMCID: PMC6035278

   -Chandra S*, Zhao M*, Budelsky A, de Mingo Pulido A, Day J, Fu Z, Siegel L, Smith D, Kronenberg M. A new mouse strain for the analysis of invariant NKT cell function. Nat Immunology. 2015 Aug;16(8):799-800. (* co-first author) PMCID: PMC4711267

Minimum Qualifications

• Ph.D. in a biological science, chemistry, physics or other relevant area, M.D., or equivalent (or expect to receive a doctoral degree soon).

• Highly motivated and enthusiastic about science.

• Excellent experimental and communication skills

• Must be detail oriented, organized, and able to work independently, as well as part of a team.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

• Ability to communicate and write summaries of results.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous researc