Job Description

Position Summary

The Liu Lab at Washington University School of Medicine is recruiting motivated, productive, independent, and collegial postdocs interested in using bioinformatics to interrogate gut immunity. The immediate projects may involve spatial transcriptomic analysis of clinical samples from people with inflammatory bowel diseases, mechanistic understanding of epigenetic and transcriptional regulation of gut epithelial cell differentiation, or mechanistic understanding of how diet modulate both innate and adaptive immune cells. This postdoctoral researcher will combine wet-lab molecular biology methods, dry-lab bioinformatic analysis, and a translational approach using samples from mice and humans. The overall goal is to understand mechanisms of gut mucosal immunity homeostasis. The start date is negotiable.

Job Description

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

Information on being a postdoc at Washington University in St. Louis can be found at

https://postdoc.wustl.edu/prospective-postdocs-2/.

Information on the lab can be found at https://sites.wustl.edu/liulab/people-page-page/. 

The training will involve (a) the development and application of innovative single-cell RNAseq methods, which may include spatial transcriptomics, (b) bioinformatic analysis of single-cell genomics datasets, (c) a translational approach using blood or tissue samples from humans, or mice, (d) wet-lab methods in microbiology (such as sterile cell culture in an enhanced biosafety level 2 (BSL2+) lab), immunology (such as flow cytometry), and molecular biology (such as CRISPR, RNA biology), (e) collaboration with other researchers both inside and outside of Washington University, including virologists, immunologists, bioinformaticians, computer scientists, and clinicians, (f) presentation in international conferences, and (g) manuscript preparation and grant applications.

Selected publications:

• Liu TC, Kern JT, Jain U, Sonnek NM, Xiong S, Simpson KF, VanDussen KL, Winkler ES, Haritunians T, Malique A, Lu Q, Sasaki Y, Storer C, Diamond MS, Head RD, McGovern DPB, Stappenbeck TS. Western diet induces Paneth cell defects through microbiome alterations and farnesoid X receptor and type I interferon activation. Cell Host Microbe. 2021 May 12:S1931-3128(21)00180-3.
• Balasubramanian I, Bandyopadhyay S, Flores J, Lin X, Liu H, Sun S, Golovchenko NB. Liu Y, Patel R, Bianchi-Smak J, Joseph I, Suntornsaratoon P, Vargas J, Green PHR, Bhagt G, Ferraris R, Lagana SM, Ying W, Zhang Y, Wang Z, Li WV, Singh S, Zhou Z, Kollias G, Yu S, Wei Z, Bonder EM, Zhang L, Edelblum KL, Liu TC*, Gao N*. Stress activated Paneth cell subset propagates inflammation. The EMBO Journal. 2023 Sep 18:e113975 
• Malique A, Sun S, Chandwe K, Amadi B, Haritunians T, Jain U, Muegge BD, Frein J, Sasaki Y, Foster A, Storer CE, Mengesha E, Kern J, McGovern DPB, Head RD, Kelly P, Liu TC. NAD+ precursors and bile acid sequestration treat preclinical refractory environmental enteric dysfunction. Sci Transl Med. 2024 Jan 3;16(728):eabq4145. PMID: 38170788. 
• Hung CT, Ma C, Panda SK, Trsan T, Hodel M, Frein J, Foster A, Sun S, Wu HT, Kern J, Mishra R, Jain U, Ho YC, Colonna M, Stappenbeck TS, Liu TC. Western diet reduces small intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes via FXR-Interferon pathway. Mucosal Immunol 2024 July. Online ahead of print. PMID: 38992433.
• Sun S, Hodel M, Wang X, De Vicente J, Haritunians T, Debebe A, Ma C, Malique A, Nguyen HN, Agam M, Rishra R, Frein J, Foster A, Ballentine S, Kern J, Yang S, Mengesha E, Balasubramanian I, Arguello A, Estrada AA, Gao N, Peter I, McGovern DPB, Henry AG, Stappenbeck TS, Liu TC. Macrophage LRRK2 hyperactivity impairs autophagy and induces Paneth cell dysfunction. Science Immunology 2024 Nov. 9, eadi7907.

Working Conditions

• Works in a laboratory environment with potential exposure to blood and chemical hazards.

 

Salary Range

Base pay is commensurate with experience.

Applicant Special Instructions

Interested candidates should send a CV, a personal statement, and the contact information for three referees to Dr. Ta-Chiang Liu at ta-chiang.liu@wustl.edu. The applicant is encouraged to read one of the above publications and describe interests in related work.  

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job duties performed by the personnel so classified. Management reserves the right to revise or amend duties at any time.

Required Qualifications

Education:

Ph.D., M.D. Or Equivalent Terminal Or Doctoral Degree.

Certifications:

No specific certification is required for this position.

Work Experience:

No specific work experience is required for this position.

Skills:

Not Applicable

Driver's License:

A driver's license is not required for this position.

More About This Job

Preferred Qualifications:

• A recent (<4 years) PhD degree in bioinformatics, genomics, genetics, microbiology, molecular biology, immunology, or a related discipline; PhD students who are about to graduate are eligible.  
• Track record of research productivity, as evidenced by first-authored original publication(s) in high-quality peer-reviewed journals.
• Experience or interests in programming languages such as R or python.
• Independence to lead a project as well as willingness to work in a team.
• An open mind to learn new methods from junior researchers and collaborators.
• Good scientific presentation and writing skills. Previous experience and publications in bioinformatics, immunology, or virology.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

No additional education beyond what is stated in the Required Qualifications section.

Certifications:

No additional certification beyond what is stated in the Required Qualifications section.

Work Experience:

No additional work experience beyond what is stated in the Required Qualifications section.

Skills:

Not Applicable

Questions

For frequently asked questions about the application process, please refer to our External Applicant FAQ.

Accommodation

If you are unable to use our online application system and would like an accommodation, please email CandidateQuestions@wustl.edu or call the dedicated accommodation inquiry number at 314-935-1149 and leave a voicemail with the nature of your request.

All qualified individuals must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily and, if requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship.

Pre-Employment Screening

All external candidates receiving an offer for employment will be required to submit to pre-employment screening for this position. The screenings will include criminal background check and, as applicable for the position, other background checks, drug screen, an employment and education or licensure/certification verification, physical examination, certain vaccinations and/or governmental registry checks. All offers are contingent upon successful completion of required screening.

Benefits Statement

Washington University in St. Louis is committed to providing a comprehensive and competitive benefits package to our employees. Benefits eligibility is subject to employment status, full-time equivalent (FTE) workload, and weekly standard hours. Please visit our website at https://hr.wustl.edu/benefits/ to view a summary of benefits.

EEO/AA Statement

Washington University in St. Louis is committed to the principles and practices of equal employment opportunity and especially encourages applications by those from underrepresented groups. It is the University’s policy to provide equal opportunity and access to persons in all job titles without regard to race, ethnicity, color, national origin, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information.

Diversity Statement

Washington University is dedicated to building a diverse community of individuals who are committed to contributing to an inclusive environment – fostering respect for all and welcoming individuals from diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Individuals with a commitment to these values are encouraged to apply.