Postdoctoral Fellow - Heczey Lab

Seattle Children's • Seattle, WA

74d

About The Position

The Heczey Lab believes that the development of the next-generation of cell therapies will be based on in-vivo (inside the body) genetic engineering of cells which can overcome the immune escape mechanisms employed within the tumor microenvironment to safely and effectively cure patients with cancer. The lab has a preclinical and clinical arm. The post-doctoral associate will be part of an energetic team within the combined translational laboratories of the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders Research at the Seattle Children’s Research Institution. This position will focus on developing synthetic gene expression switches to overcome immune escape of tumors. Specific targets to accomplish this goal are informed by our two ongoing clinical trials treating patients with CAR T cells. The project will implement tumor triggered regulatory circuits to protect the engineered cells from exhaustion and enhance their survival with the tumor microenvironment. The post-doctoral associate will be tasked to design and conduct the experiments related to the project with the help of the mentor and other team members of the Heczey Lab. He/she will analyze the data and present the evolving results at weekly laboratory meetings and research seminars of the Seattle Children’s Research Institution. The details of the experiments and the findings will be recorded in electronic laboratory notebook.

Requirements

• Doctorate degree (PhD/DVM/MD) in Immunology, genetic engineering, or related fields.
• Experience using basic research techniques of specialty area.
• Strong organizational skills, record keeping, and interpersonal communication skills (verbal and written).

Nice To Haves

• Great fund of knowledge of tumor immunology principles.
• Understanding advanced genetic engineering techniques (transfection, retroviral / lentiviral transduction, transposition, CRISPR-Cas9).
• Viral particle assembly.
• Advanced cloning methods
• Expertise in functional characterization of CAR T cells
• Excellent aseptic cell culture technique.
• Enthusiasm and a willingness to learn in a fast-pace, collaborative environment.

Responsibilities

• Design and conduct the experiments related to the project with the help of the mentor and other team members of the Heczey Lab.
• Analyze the data and present the evolving results at weekly laboratory meetings and research seminars of the Seattle Children’s Research Institution.
• Record the details of the experiments and the findings in electronic laboratory notebook.

Benefits

• Seattle Children’s offers a generous benefit package, including medical, dental, and vision plans, 403(b), life insurance, paid time off, tuition reimbursement, and more.
• Additional details on our benefits can be found on our website www.seattlechildrens.org/careers/benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees