Scholarship: Fully funded
Degree: PhD
Nationality: International Students
Location: USA
Application deadlines: Open
Scholarship Description:
My laboratory (https://weixingzhaolab.org/) in the Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology (BSB) and the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute (GCCRI) at UT Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) is seeking 2 highly motivated postdoctoral fellows to study BRCA1/2 (Breast Cancer Susceptibility Gene 1 and 2) mediated DNA response and cancer biology. Our research programs are well supported by newly awarded two NIH R01 grants (NIGMS and NCI), Research Scholar Award from American Cancer Society, CPRIT HIHR Award grant, together with Rising STARs Award, Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Fund Young Investigator Award and V foundation Scholar Award. With a holistic approach, which encompasses biochemical reconstitution of complex biological reactions, single-molecular biophysics, structural biology, and cell-based analyses, we have made important discoveries concerning the roles that the tumor suppressor complexes BRCA1-BARD1, BRCA2-DSS1 and other related factors fulfill in the homology-directed repair of damaged chromosomes, some results have appeared in prestigious journals, including Journal of Cell Biology (2020), Nature (2017; highlighted in Nature News & Views; attracted 68 media attentions; ranked within the top one percent of over 295,200 research articles of a similar age), Nature Structural Molecular Biology (2017) and Molecular Cell (2015; selected as the cover story). Built uponthose important breakthroughs and findings, research projects of the laboratory are to delineate BRCA1/2 biology and the protein interaction networks (especially three novel partners newly discovered by my team at UTHSCSA; unpublished) that regulate the tumor suppressor function of BRCA1 and BRCA2, and the drug response of patients who have germline and somatic BRCA1/2 mutations, with the goal of providing molecular insights to translate into effective regimens and personal medicine.
UT Health San Antonio, comprised of Medical, Graduate, Dental, Nursing and Health Profession schools, is home to the Nathan Shock Center for Aging, an NCI-designated cancer center and NIH Clinical Translational Science Award and the Center for Neuroscience. The institute offers postdoctoral fellows an exceptional research and training environment with state-of-the art facilities and outstanding core laboratories for next-generation sequencing, macromolecular Interactions, mass spectrometry, optical imaging, single-cell processing and biomolecular NMR. Notably, our newly established cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) center has solved a 1.8A structure within the first two weeks of operation.Moreover, San Antonio is the 7th largest city in the U.S., with a historical downtown, diverse entertainment and restaurants on the Riverwalk, a vibrant economy, affordable housing and easy access to the scenic Texas Hill Country, with its many recreational opportunities.
In addition to competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits, the successful candidates will carry out research independently and will receive great training and strong support for developing an independent research career after postdoctoral training. All postdoctoral appointments are designated as security sensitive position. The University of Texas Health at San Antonio is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer including protected veterans and persons with disabilities.
Available Subjects:
- Biochemistry or cell biology
Eligibility criteria:
- Applicants should have a recent Ph.D. (or expect to receive a doctoral degree soon), possess great experimental and communication skills, and demonstrate solid training in biochemistry or cell biology with 1-2 scientific publications.
- Previous research experience in DNA repair and cancer biology is preferred but not essential.
Application Procedure:
Please send (1) a cover letter describing your previous training, research accomplishments and future research interests, (2) your curriculum vitae, and (3) contact information of three referees to Dr. Weixing Zhao atzhaow2@uthscsa.edu.