Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Epigenetic regulation of the donor immune response after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation

A Postdoctoral Research Fellowship position is offered in the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine under the mentorship of Dr. Yiouli Ktena.Our lab is interested in understanding the epigenetic, cellular, and molecular mechanisms that underlie the immunologic response that develops following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT). Allogeneic BMT is the only curative therapy for many malignant disorders, such as aggressive leukemias and lymphomas, and is now increasingly used to cure non-malignant disorders, such as bone marrow failure syndromes, metabolic disorders, or immune deficiencies. However, successful outcomes are limited by graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) and malignant relapse due to insufficient graft-vs-tumor (GVT) activity, and progress has stalled in our understanding of the immunobiology of these two significant complications. Specifically, we have focused on understanding how epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, contribute to the regulation of the donor immune response. Using lineage-restricted knock-out mice as donors in well-established pre-clinical murine models of BMT, we explore the contribution of epigenetic regulation to transplantation tolerance and anti-tumor immunity following BMT. As part of the Pediatric Oncology and BMT Program, we are focused on improving outcomes for children, adolescent, and young adult BMT recipients by expanding the program’s translational research portfolio which includes understanding the biology of transplant-related complications and modulating the engrafting donor immune system to optimize GVT activity. The work will involve studies in murine models of BMT, cell lines, and modeling studies in mice with the use of latest tools, such as next generation sequencing technologies (scRNAseq, ChIP-seq, WGBS, etc), and high-dimensional flow cytometry. The Fellow will be responsible for the conceptualization, design, and statistical analyses of research studies in the study of allo-BMT, GVHD, and GVT activity, as well as the drafting of these studies in academic manuscripts. In this role you will also be involved in presenting our research at national and international meetings and conferences.

Applicants must have a PhD and /or MD degree (or anticipate receiving their degree in the near future) with less than five years of postdoctoral experience. Applicants should have the ability to carry out independent research, a strong interest in interdisciplinary approaches and have published articles in peer-reviewed journals. Training in genomics, molecular biology, oncology, immune-oncology, or bioinformatics is preferred.