Multiple postdoctoral positions in Immunoengineering

　　Washington University in St Louis

　　Location: St Louis, MO

　　Job Number: 7053437

　　Posting Date: Sep 26, 2018

　　Application Deadline: Open Until Filled

　　Job Description

　　Up to four postdoctoral positions are available in the Rudra lab in the department of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St Louis (https://bme.wustl.edu/Pages/default.aspx). Highly productive senior postdocs may be considered for a position as Research Assistant Professor (non-tenure).

　　We are interested in understanding the immunological determinants of supramolecular peptide-based biomaterials, their mechanisms of adjuvant action, and applications in vaccine development and immunotherapy for infectious diseases and addiction (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Rudra+JS).

　　Potential projects will involve (1) design, synthesis, and characterization of self-assembling heterochiral peptide-polymer scaffolds for enhancing tissue-resident mucosal T cell responses with a particular focus on pulmonary delivery (2) mechanistic studies involving autophagy and aggrephagy pathways in macrophages and dendritic cells that drive antigen presentation of peptide self-assemblies (3) development of T cell -dependent and -independent multivalent vaccines against addictive drugs (cocaine & opioids) and (4) understanding epigenetic reprogramming and induction of trained immunity by supramolecular nanomaterials.

　　Applicants will hold a Ph.D. in an engineering discipline with strong focus on materials science and polymer chemistry (a background in self-assembling peptide/protein systems is preferred). Candidates with Ph.D. in the fields of immunology, vaccinology, and structural biology are encouraged to apply. Prior research experience with animals and standard immunological assays with a particular emphasis on flow cytometry is a plus.

　　Interested candidates should send an application packet, including all of the following as a single PDF file by email to Dr. Jai Rudra (srudra22@wustl.edu):

　　1.    Cover letter indicating current and future research interests; and expected start date

　　2.    Curriculum vitae;

　　3.    Brief summary of previous research experience (limited to 3 pages);

　　4.    PDF copies of 2-3 publications

　　5.    Names and contact information for 3 references.