Job Description

Postdoctoral Associate in Type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease Research at UMass Chan Medical School

A postdoctoral associate position is available in the laboratory of Prof. Jason Kim, Program in Molecular Medicine, for a highly motivated candidate with a Ph.D. and/or M.D. to conduct new NIH-funded research investigating the important connection between type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using physiologic, molecular, and cell-based approaches in transgenic mice.

The ideal candidate should have a strong background in molecular and cell biology, immunology, and neuroscience, as the newly funded project involves the use of primary macrophages, hepatocytes, natural killer cells, glial cells, and neurons from transgenic mouse models and various in vitro systems using AAV and siRNA.

The ideal candidate should demonstrate solid writing skills capable of drafting a manuscript and a grant application, analytical skills with statistics and a basic understanding of bioinformatics, communication skills to work effectively with other lab members, mentoring skills to oversee PhD students and student interns, a positive personality to engage in team research, and strong integrity and ethics.

Building on prior expertise in molecular and cell biology, immunology, and neuroscience, the candidate will be trained in elegant in vivo metabolic procedures and physiologic approaches, behavioral phenotyping tests for learning and memory, and spatial transcriptomic analysis to lead exciting and complex research projects aimed at determining the molecular link between type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

The candidate will also be trained in grant writing with the expectation to apply for postdoctoral grants during the 1^st year and will be engaged in multiple collaborative projects with other leading diabetes and AD investigators, establishing professional networks.

Notably, the candidate must be fully committed to learning the investigative process, developing a strong hypothesis, comprehensively designing experiments with anticipated outcomes and pitfalls, carefully performing experiments with reproducibility, and analyzing the scientific data with utmost rigor for high-impact presentations and publications.

Strong publication history during graduate training, prior submission of predoctoral grant applications, and most enthusiastic letters from current and past mentors (minimum of 3 references) are highly encouraged.

Qualifications: Education, experience, and skills required for consideration:

• Ph.D. in molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, neuroscience, or related disciplines
• M.D. and prior research experiences in molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, or neuroscience
• Strong work ethic and motivation to apply skills toward solving biological problems of human diseases
• Meticulous and careful technical skills
• Excellent analytical skills with statistics and independent judgment
• Highly collegial and works well as a team member
• Solid written and verbal communication skills
• Desire to be trained in high-quality scientific research with the goal of becoming an independent investigator

To Apply:

Applicants should submit the following materials via email to Prof. Jason Kim at jason.kim@umassmed.edu: a cover letter describing the applicant’s research expertise, past and current projects, and training goals; a CV (including a complete list of publications), and contact information for three references, one of which should be a Ph.D. advisor or equivalent.