Postdoctoral Fellow

Mission Statement:

The mission of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is to eliminate cancer in Texas, the nation, and the world through outstanding programs that integrate patient care, research and prevention, and through education for undergraduate and graduate students, trainees, professionals, employees and the public.

Summary:

Multiple postdoctoral fellow positions are available in the laboratory of Dr. Xi Chen at the Department of Experimental Therapeutics and the James P. Allison Institute at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.  The Chen laboratory studies how cancer and its immune microenvironment sense and respond to stresses and therapeutic insults to evade immune surveillance and develop drug resistance. We specialize in cancer immunology, ER stress, innate immunity, cancer biology, biochemistry, transgenic and preclinical animal models, and translational research.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will conduct experiments, perform data analysis and prepare manuscripts in addition to attending lab meetings, journal clubs, and research seminars. The Postdoctoral Fellow’s primary research focus is to merge mechanistic insights with the translational objectives of experimental therapeutics and the accompanying stratifications of genetic biomarkers to address unmet clinical needs in cancer therapy. The Postdoctoral Fellow will train, learn and study design, data analysis and manuscript writing.
 

Publications from the Chen lab include Cell (2024, PMID: 39419025), Science (2023, PMID: 37676964), Nature Cell Biology (2020, PMID: 32958856), Nature Reviews Cancer (2021, PMID: 33214692), JCI (2018, PMID: 29480818), Nature (2014, PMID: 24670641) etc. Our mechanism-driven translational studies have led to the first-in-human clinical trial of IRE1a RNase inhibitor. The highly supportive and interdisciplinary training environment in the Chen lab provides unique career development opportunities for the postdoc trainees. Multiple former postdoc trainees have become Tenure Track Assistant Professors and/or Independent PIs in USA and other country receiving prestigious awards such as CPRIT Scholar Award for First-Time Tenure-Track Faculty Member etc. Our research aims to elucidate the significance and mechanisms of stress responses in therapy resistance and anti-tumor immunity, and develop mechanism-based novel therapies to overcome therapy resistance and transform cancer to a manageable chronic disease. Please refer to our representative publications for details: Cell (PMID: 39419025); Science (PMID: 37676964); Nature Cell Biology (PMID: 32958856); Nature Reviews Cancer (PMID: 33214692); JCI (PMID: 29480818); Nature (PMID: 24670641); Cell (PMID: 18555785); Nature Immunology (PMID: 31086333): Nature Cell Biology (PMID: 30778220).

Job Specific Competencies:

• Strong background and working knowledge in immunology, biochemistry, molecular biology and cancer biology.
• Expertise in flow cytometry, biochemistry and animal models is strongly preferred.

• A strong sense of curiosity and passion for science.