Two postdoctoral positions are available immediately in the laboratories of Drs. Riazuddin and Ahmed in the department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
Our mission: Genetic hearing loss affects 1:1,000 newborns and age/noise induced hearing loss more than half of the population over 70. The research of our laboratory takes multiple approaches to unravel the signaling cascades in congenital and acquired hearing loss. We study a variety of recessive disorders such as congenital hearing loss, progressive hearing loss, Usher syndrome, noise induced and age related hearing loss. We use a broad range of techniques from human genetics, transcriptome and translatome profiling and chromatin IP to functional neurophysiological and molecular studies in vivo and in vitro, using tissue culture, mouse models and zebrafish. Our ultimate goal is to develop new treatments for genetic and acquired hearing loss.
Job description: Two full-time postdoctoral positions leading projects related to the transcriptional cascades that underlie inner ear hair cell development and survival using transgenic mouse and zebrafish models; functional characterization and network analyses of novel deafness, and Usher syndrome proteins in mouse and zebrafish models and nanomedicine. These projects will require knowledge/additional training in neuroscience, gene expression analysis, cell biology, confocal microscopy and gene delivery amongst other techniques.
Ideal candidates are highly motivated graduates of a PhD program in cellular or molecular biology, with some experience in working with animal models, ideally in neuroscience. Experience in inner ear research, functional analysis and a strong publication record are helpful.
Environment: The laboratories are part of the department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, and we are affiliated also with the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Visual Sciences. Both labs work in a large open space at the University of Maryland Biopark in a highly collaborative fashion. The two teams have separate as well as joint lab meetings and journal clubs. The University has state of the art confocal, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, proteomics, flow cytometry and immunology, animal and sequencing facilities. We have the skills and expertise to perform in-depth functional analyses of auditory and vestibular dysfunction in mouse and zebrafish. The team consists of undergraduates, graduate students, post docs, residents and surgeons working together on basic science and translational studies. Finally, the team is involved in generating tools for analysis and dissemination of gene expression data.
Benefits: Stipend follows the NIH recommended guidelines and full health benefits. Standardized leave – 10 days annual leave, 15 days sick leave, 3 days personal leave and ~15 days holiday leave (determined annually by the university). Postdocs will ideally participate and present in one annual meeting a year, as determined by the PI, contingent on productivity. The postdoctoral appointment is renewed on an annual basis contingent on performance and available funding.
Contact: For further details, please email sriazuddin@smail.umaryland and zahmed@smail.umaryland.edu and include a brief (1 page) description of your background, current research and career goals, as well as your curriculum vitae and names of three referees. |
|
smail.umaryland.edu
