kyunglee@mail.nih.gov North Bethesda, Maryland (US)Starts at $50,500 (with no prior postdoctoral training) and health insurance.

A postdoctoral fellowship is available to study the molecular mechanism of 1) how Plk4 assembles at centrosomes to trigger centriole biogenesis or 2) how Plk1 associates with its various binding targets to orchestrate normal M-phase progression. Tight regulation of these processes is critical for the maintenance of genomic integrity and the prevention of aneuploidy and cancers in humans. Thus, we are taking multidisciplinary approaches to understand the molecular and subcellular bases of supramolecular assemblies pivotally required for these events. Fellows who have an expertise in X-ray crystallography with a keen interest in learning cryo-EM at an NCI imaging center (fully accessible for fellows) or single molecule super-resolution imaging are encouraged to apply.

Applicants should complete a Ph.D. or M.D. coursework or have achieved the degree less than 3 years ago. Please visit https://ccr.cancer.gov/Laboratory-of-Metabolism/kyung-s-lee for additional information.

To apply, please send CV and three names of references to Dr. Kyung Lee (kyunglee@mail.nih.gov), National Cancer Institute, NIH. Bethesda, MD 20892

Selected Publications:

Kang, Y.-H., et al. 2006. Self-regulated Plk1 recruitment to kinetochores by the Plk1-PBIP1 interaction is critical for proper chromosome segregation. Mol. Cell 24:409-422.

Soung NK, et al. 2009. Plk1-dependent and -independent roles of an ODF2 splice variant, hCenexin1, at the centrosome of somatic cells. Dev. Cell 16: 539-550.

Park JE, et al. 2009. Direct quantification of polo-like kinase 1 activity in cells and tissues using a highly sensitive and specific ELISA assay. PNAS USA. 106:1725-1730.

Yun SM, et al. 2009. Structural and functional analyses of minimal phosphopeptides targeting the polo-box domain of polo-like kinase 1. Nat. Str. & Mol. Biol. 16:876-882.

Park, J. -E., et al. 2011. Feed-forward mechanism of converting biochemical cooperativity to mitotic processes at the kinetochore plate. PNAS USA. 108:8200-5.

Johmura Y, et al. 2011. Regulation of microtubule-based microtubule nucleation by mammalian polo-like kinase 1.  PNAS USA. 108:11446-11451.

Liu F, et al. 2011. Serendipitous alkylation of a Plk1 ligand uncovers a new binding channel. Nat. Chem. Biol. 7:595-601.

Lee KH, et al. 2012. Identification of a novel Wnt5a-CK1e-Dvl2-Plk1-mediated primary cilia disassembly pathway. EMBO J. 31:3104-17.

Park, S. -Y., et al. 2014. Molecular basis for unidirectional scaffold switching of Plk4 in centriole biogenesis. Nat. Str. Mol. Biol. 21:696.

This position is subject to a background investigation. The NIH is dedicated to building a diverse community in its training and employment programs