Postdoctoral Research Associate

University of Illinois Chicago • Peoria, IL

7d • Onsite

About The Position

The University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria (UICOMP) seeks candidates for the position(s) of Postdoc Research Associate in the Medicine Department. About the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria The University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria is a regional campus of one of the largest public medical schools in the United States. We are known for having small class sizes and exceptional faculty mentorship. This allows UICOMP students to excel under a rigorous curriculum. In collaboration with our hospitals and clinical partners, UICOMP Faculty members provide care to more than 45,000 patients each year. In addition, they contribute to medical education and training for more than 260 students, and more than 300 physician residents and fellows annually. UICOMP healthcare partners include Jump Simulation, a world-class leader in healthcare simulation and innovation, along with OSF Saint Medical Center, OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois and Carle Hearth Greater Peoria. UICOMP is also part of a R1 research institute with translational research focusing on Alzheimer dementia and oncology. Learn more about how the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria is helping to transform healthcare here: https://peoria.medicine.uic.edu/ . This position is intended to be eligible for benefits . This includes Health, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, a Retirement Plan, Paid time Off, and Tuition waivers for employees and dependents. Position Summary The Postdoctoral Research Associate is a doctoral-level laboratory scientist who participates in the design, execution, and interpretation of translational cancer research under the mentorship of the Principal Investigator (PI). The research program focuses on the role of the microbiota and bacterial extracellular vesicles (bEVs) in shaping anti-tumor immunity and the response to cancer immunotherapy, with particular emphasis on lung cancer. The incumbent will independently conduct molecular, biochemical, and cellular biology experiments, bacterial and primary cell culture, and in vivo animal studies; will analyze, present, and publish resulting data; and will play a central role in generating the preliminary and supporting data required for the PI's extramural grant applications. Independent scientific judgment, doctoral-level training, rigorous documentation, and effective collaboration within a team-based laboratory environment are required.

Requirements

• A PhD (or MD/PhD, or equivalent doctoral degree) in cancer biology, immunology, microbiology, molecular/cellular biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, or a closely related biological science.
• Demonstrated research experience in a relevant biological discipline, evidenced by first-author peer-reviewed publication(s) or manuscripts in preparation.
• Hands-on proficiency with core molecular biology techniques, including DNA/RNA/protein extraction and analysis, qRT-PCR, Western blotting, cloning, plasmid and vector construction, and gene expression analysis.
• Hands-on proficiency with cellular biology techniques, including mammalian cell and primary cell culture, generation of isogenic cell lines (overexpression, knockdown/knockout, CRISPR knock-in/knock-out, inducible or conditionally activatable systems), viability and functional assays, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry.
• Documented experience performing in vivo rodent studies, including tumor implantation, treatment dosing, monitoring, necropsy, tissue harvest and processing, and colony management; willingness and ability to become approved on institutional IACUC protocols.
• Ability to design controlled experiments, maintain a complete and auditable laboratory notebook, troubleshoot independently, and analyze and interpret data using appropriate statistical methods.
• Demonstrated ability to function as a productive and collegial team member: shares reagents, equipment, and protocols; supports colleagues' experiments; and contributes to shared laboratory responsibilities.
• Ability to contribute directly to the preparation of extramural grant applications (NIH R01, R21, U-series, foundation, and career development awards), including generating and assembling preliminary data, preparing publication-quality figures, and drafting sections of the research strategy.
• Strong written and verbal scientific communication skills sufficient to present at laboratory meetings, institutional seminars, and national scientific conferences, and to draft manuscripts.
• Strong organizational and time management skills, with the ability to advance multiple experiments and timelines concurrently.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and standard scientific software for data analysis and figure preparation (e.g., GraphPad Prism, FlowJo, ImageJ, EndNote or equivalent).
• Commitment to rigor, reproducibility, responsible conduct of research, and compliance with all institutional biosafety, IACUC, IRB, and regulatory requirements.

Nice To Haves

• Doctoral training or postdoctoral experience in cancer biology, ideally lung cancer or thoracic oncology.
• Experience in tumor immunology and cancer immunotherapy, including immune checkpoint blockade models, T cell and myeloid cell isolation and functional assays, and multiparameter or spectral flow cytometry.
• Experience with the microbiome and/or bacteriology: anaerobic and aerobic bacterial culture, gnotobiotic or germ-free and antibiotic-treated mouse models, fecal microbiota transplantation, and 16S rRNA or shotgun metagenomic sequencing and analysis.
• Experience with extracellular vesicles, including isolation (ultracentrifugation, density gradient, size exclusion chromatography), characterization (nanoparticle tracking analysis, electron microscopy, immunoblotting), cargo profiling, and functional uptake studies.
• Experience with syngeneic, orthotopic, genetically engineered, and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse models of lung cancer, and with small animal imaging.
• Experience with organoid/tumoroid generation, organotypic tumor culture, and ex vivo modeling of clinical biospecimens.
• Experience with single-cell and bulk RNA sequencing, and with bioinformatic and computational analysis (R, Python, TCGA, GSEA, QIIME2, MetaboAnalyst, or equivalent).
• Experience with correlative analysis of human clinical trial biospecimens and biomarker discovery.
• Prior contribution to funded grant applications or receipt of a fellowship or trainee award.

Responsibilities

• Designs and executes in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo experiments investigating the microbiota and bacterial extracellular vesicles in anti-tumor immunity and immunotherapy response, with an emphasis on lung cancer, independently and in collaboration with the PI, other postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, and research staff.
• Performs molecular and biochemical assays (nucleic acid and protein isolation and analysis, qRT-PCR, immunoblotting, ELISA, cloning and vector construction, CRISPR-based gene editing) and cellular assays (primary and tumor cell culture, bacterial culture, co-culture and immune functional assays, flow cytometry, microscopy, histology and immunohistochemistry of tissue specimens).
• Conducts animal studies in accordance with approved IACUC protocols, including tumor model establishment, treatment administration, longitudinal monitoring, tissue collection and processing, and colony management; assists in the preparation, amendment, and renewal of animal and biosafety protocols.
• Generates, analyzes, and interprets rigorous, reproducible data; maintains complete records and organized raw data files; and prepares publication-quality figures and summaries.
• Contributes substantively to the PI's extramural grant applications by generating preliminary and supporting data on defined timelines, assembling figures, and drafting and editing sections of the research strategy and supporting documents.
• Prepares first-author and co-author manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication and presents laboratory data at internal meetings and external scientific conferences.
• Critically evaluates the current literature and adapts evolving understanding of cancer biology, immunology, microbiome science, and emerging technology to the objectives described above; proposes new experimental approaches and contributes to the development of ongoing and new research goals.
• Develops, optimizes, validates, and documents new laboratory methods and standard operating procedures; troubleshoots complex technical and instrumentation problems and assists other laboratory personnel in doing so.
• Functions as a technical and scientific resource to the laboratory: provides bench instruction and orientation on general and technical procedures to graduate students, undergraduate students, technicians, and visiting scholars, and disseminates current knowledge and best practices.
• Participates in the shared operation of the laboratory, including equipment use and maintenance, routine procurement and inventory of supplies, reagent and cell line management, and shipment of biological reagents and animal models to collaborating laboratories with the relevant technical information.
• Coordinates and communicates effectively with the PI, laboratory members, core facilities, clinical collaborators, and institutional research administration; notifies the PI or appropriate personnel promptly of equipment or product defects, protocol deviations, safety concerns, and other significant issues.
• Complies with all institutional and federal requirements governing laboratory safety, biosafety, chemical hygiene, animal welfare, human subjects research, and data integrity, and completes all required training.
• Additional duties may be assigned per laboratory and programmatic needs.

Benefits

• Health
• Dental
• Vision
• Life Insurance
• Retirement Plan
• Paid time Off
• Tuition waivers for employees and dependents

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree