Postdoctoral Fellowship Position, Alvira Lab, Stanford University

Position Description:  The Laboratory of Cristina Alvira, MD at Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics is currently accepting applications for a postdoctoral fellow to work on a new NIH-funded project focused on the role of lung macrophages in regulating pulmonary vascular growth, tone and remodeling.  Using single cell RNA-sequencing to define macrophage diversity during late embryonic and early postnatal lung development, we identfied  a tremendous increase in macrophage  diversity after birth. Specialized, highly proliferative macrophages present before birth are replaced after birth by a complex and dynamic mixture of diverse macrophage subtypes exhibiting unique gene signatures, developmental gradients in gene expression, and specific locations within the lung suggesting distinct functions in tissue remodeling, angiogenesis, and immunity. Interestingly, a subset of embryonic macrophages was found to completely encircle small arterioles and express numerous genes that regulate lung branching, angiogenesis, and EC phenotype.  The successful candidate will lead a project that is leverages the single cell RNA-Sequencing and combines multiplex in situ hybridization, lineage tracing, studies in primary EC and macrophages, and transgenic and conditional knock-out mice to define the role of specific macrophage subsets in modulating EC phenotype and regulating lung parenchymal and vascular growth.  

Qualifications:  Applicants must have a PhD or MD/PhD with expertise in immunology, cell, molecular, or developmental biology, and past experience using mouse models of disease. Priority will be given to applicants with prior training in pulmonary, vascular or endothelial biology. Expertise in primary cell isolation and culture, FACS, confocal imaging, and mouse genetics is preferred. Experience with a programming language suitable for computational analysis (e.g. R or Python) is desired .

The candidate must  demonstrate intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm, have extremely strong written and oral communication skills, be highly motivated, able to work independently, and function well as part of a team. Successful applicants will have a strong track record of research productivity, presentations, and publications.

Applicants should submit a CV, a cover letter detailing research interests and career goals, up to three relevant papers, and contact information for three references.