Scholarship: NIH-funded
Degree: PhD, DDS, DVM, JD, MD or equivalent
Nationality: International Students
Location: USA
Application deadlines: Open until filled.
Scholarship Description:
Organ fibrosis results in a loss of normal tissue architecture and function and is accompanied by a combination of disrupted cell-cell interactions, the adoption of abnormal cell fates and a scarred fibrotic matrix. Dr Qi Tan’s research focuses on lung fibrosis and lung regeneration.
Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other forms of pulmonary fibrosis, are on the rise as the world’s population ages and represent a significant and growing medical burden. While two FDA-approved therapies moderately slow disease progression, they do not fundamentally alter the course of these diseases. Epithelial dysfunction has emerged as a central component of the pathogenesis of interstitial lung diseases, including IPF. Understanding how these cells lose their identity and become trapped in aberrant states is central to the development of more effective therapies for IPF and is the central motivation for this project.
Dr. Tan’s lab is leveraging novel mouse models, lung organoids and next-generation sequencing as tools to understand the plasticity of epithelial cells in lung fibrosis. His long-terms goals are to redirect the fate of diseased cells during fibrosis using CRISPR activation and small-molecule therapeutics, leading to the development of novel regenerative therapies. The lab is well-funded with The Hormel Institute, NIH/ NHLBI and other foundation grants, and the work is to be conducted within a multidisciplinary laboratory featuring state-of-the-art resources including scRNA-seq platform, confocal microscopy, novel cellular, tissue and animal models, as well as access to outstanding core facilities.
The Hormel Institute is an independent biomedical research department within the University of Minnesota’s Office of the Vice President for Research. Established in 1942, The Hormel Institute will soon be celebrating 80 years of innovative research and today’s vision is “We inspire discoveries that improve and extend human life.” The Hormel Institute’s biomedical research is primarily focused on cancer research and the center is cutting edge, after tripling in size in 2008 and again doubling in size in 2016. The Hormel Institute is continuing to grow and expand to broaden our impact through innovative, world class research. Our scientists have complete access to the most cutting-edge technologies including a cryo-electron microscope (Titan Krios and Tecnai G2 Spirit Biotwin), FACS cell sorter, confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, protein crystallography robotics and defraction system, nano-HPLC-AB SCIEX triple TOF 5600 mass spectrometry, Leica tissue processor, embedder and microtome, real-time PCR instrumentation, 5 racks of Linux GPU supercomputers for computational biology and bioinformatics, spectrophotometers, and Western blot imagers. The Hormel Institute is located in Austin, MN, conveniently located 35 miles from Rochester, MN, and 100 miles (1.5 hours) south of Minneapolis/St. Paul. The Hormel Institute offers a collaborative, innovative, supportive work environment where you will contribute to our vision of “inspiring discoveries that improve and extend human life.”
Available Subjects:
- Lung biology
Eligibility criteria:
- Experience working with small animal models and mammalian cell culture
- Expertise in immunology-related basic techniques such as flow cytometry • Ability to design and conduct experiments
- Collaborate effectively within a team environment
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to prepare and present research at meetings and write scientific manuscripts in fluent English
Application Procedure:
Please emailqtan@umn.edu directly or Applications must be submitted online. To be considered for this position, please go to: https://hr.myu.umn.edu/jobs/ext/354707