Postdoctoral Research Associate

A global higher education leader in innovative teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consistently ranks as one of the nation's top public universities and is among is the top ten research universities in the nation for federal research expenditures as well as for federally funded social and behavioral sciences research and development.

Here at Carolina, our highly skilled postdocs play a vital role in our research enterprise and towards our overall commitment to research excellence. Across many disciplines, postdocs contribute to the intellectual vitality of the University. They provide innovative ideas and perspectives, foster a stimulating research environment and advance knowledge within their fields. Postdocs are crucial members of our scientific research workforce, contributors to our research outputs and an important reason why Carolina is one of the leading public research institutions in the country.

UNC-Chapel Hill offers postdocs comprehensive medical and vision coverage, paid leave, and benefits and services that support professional development and a healthy work/life balance. Chapel Hill regularly ranks as one of the best college towns and best places to live in the United States, a reputation guided by the diverse social, cultural, recreation and professional opportunities that span the campus and community.

Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others whom we serve. We accomplish this by providing leadership and excellence in the interrelated areas of patient care, education and research.

Patient care: We promote health and provide superb clinical care while maintaining our strong tradition of reaching underserved populations and reducing health disparities across North Carolina and beyond.

Education: We prepare tomorrow`s healthcare professionals and biomedical researchers from all backgrounds by facilitating learning within innovative and integrated curricula and team-oriented interprofessional education to ensure a highly skilled workforce.

Research: We develop and support a rich array of outstanding health sciences research programs, centers and resources. We provide infrastructure and opportunities for collaboration among disciplines throughout and beyond our university to support outstanding research. We foster programs in the areas of basic, translational, mechanistic and population research.

The Postdoctoral Research Associate will focus on the pathogenesis of host pulmonary responses to injuries, including infectious agents. A central area of interest will be on host responses to injury that produce airways ectasia, e.g., bronchiectasis and/or bronchiolectasis. Topics of interest in this context would include: 1) the role of obstruction and luminal/epithelial hypoxia in pro-inflammatory/pro-ectatic airway responses; 2) the roles of anaerobic bacteria in the pathogenesis of ectasia; and 3) genes that both initiate and modify ectatic lung diseases. The studies will utilize high-content spatial transcriptomics and proteomics technologies, aerobic/anaerobic cell culture technologies, single-cell RNAseq technologies, Qpath/Visiopharm/site-based image analyses, murine studies, histology, qPCR, and interface with explanted human lungs for translational studies.

Essential duties of the Postdoc include:
* Designing and carrying out studies;
* Analyzing and interpreting data;
* Publishing papers describing these results, all with the mentor.

PhD in Infectious Disease, Immunology, Pathology, Genetics, Cell and Molecular Physiology, or similar discipline required and/or MD.

Experience in Infectious Disease, Immunology, Pathology, Genetics, Cell and Molecular Physiology, or similar discipline required.

Preferred qualifications include:
1) Coursework or knowledge in infectious disease, immunology (particularly inflammation and innate immunity), cell and molecular physiology, and/or pathology of disease,
2) Experience and proficiency in some of the technologies described above, in particular imaging analyses
3) Experience in mouse models of lung disease.

N/A

For information on UNC Postdoctoral Benefits and Services click here

If you experience any problems accessing the system or have questions about the application process, please contact the University's Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at (919) 962-9982 or send an email to opahr@unc.edu.

Please note: The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs will not be able to provide specific updates regarding position or application status.

The University is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all to apply without regard to age, color, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.