Postdoctoral Fellow/Staff: small RNA/post-transcriptional networks

Sloan-Kettering Institute
Developmental Biology
United States New York New York
www.sloankettering.edu/research-areas/labs/eric-lai

Description

Bioinformatics position available at Sloan-Kettering, New York City

We seek a motivated bioinformatician to be involved in our studies of gene regulatory networks. Our laboratory at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center combines computational and experimental approaches to annotate and functionally elucidate small RNA pathways (e.g. miRNAs, siRNAs and piRNAs), mRNA processing pathways (e.g. alternative polyadenylation and circularization), and transcription factor networks (mostly regarding neural specification). Towards this end, we produce a great deal of small RNA, RNA-seq and ChIP-seq data, and analyze these with respect to the rich comparative genomic data available for Drosophila and mammals. There is a close exchange of ideas between dry and wet lab members to generate and test biologically-based hypotheses. Questions of ongoing interest include the mechanics of small RNA biogenesis, the evolution of small RNA genes and their function, tissue-specific alternative polyadenylation and 3'UTR evolution, how RNA circularization occurs and is regulated, and in vivo regulatory impact of RNA methylation, and mRNA/miRNA networks downstream of key neural transcription factors.

Recent Selected References

Westholm, J. O., P. Miura, S. Olson, S. Shenker, B. Joseph, P. Sanfilippo, S. E. Celniker, B. R. Graveley and E. C. Lai (2014). Genomewide analysis of Drosophila circular RNAs reveals their structural and sequence properties and age-dependent neural accumulation. Cell Reports 9: 1966-1980.

Dai, Q., A. Ren, J. O. Westholm, H. Duan, D. J. Patel and E. C. Lai (2015). Common and distinct DNA-binding and regulatory activities of the BEN-solo transcription factor family. Genes and Development 29: 48-62.

Wen, J., H. Duan, F. Bejarano, K. Okamura, L. Fabian, J. A. Brill, D. Bortolamiol-Becet, R. Martin, J. G. Ruby and E. C. Lai (2015). Adaptive regulation of testis gene expression and control of male fertility by the Drosophila hairpin RNA pathway. Molecular Cell 57: 165-78.

Bortolamiol-Becet, D., F. Hu, D. Jee, J. Wen, K. Okamura, C.-J. Lin, S. L. Ameres and E. C. Lai (2015). Selective suppression of the splicing-mediated microRNA pathway by the terminal uridyltransferase Tailor. Molecular Cell 59: 217-228. (Highlighted in Molecular Cell 59: 141-143).

Wen, J., E. Ladewig, S. Shenker, J. Mohammed and E. C. Lai (2015). Analysis of nearly one thousand mammalian mirtrons reveals novel features of Dicer substrates and miRNA evolution. PLoS Computational Biology 11 (9): e1004441.

Kan, L., A. V. Grozhik, J. Vedanayagam, D. P. Patil, N. Pang, K.-S. Lim, Y.-C. Huang, B. Joseph, C.-J. Lin, V. Despic, J. Guo, D. Yan, S. Kondo, W.-M. Deng, P. C. Dedon, S. R. Jaffrey and E. C. Lai (2017). The m6A pathway facilitates sex determination in Drosophila. Nature Communications 8: 15737, 1-16.


Qualifications

Relevant candidates should have proficiency in programming languages (e.g. Java or C/C++) and scripting languages (e.g. Perl or Python), and experience with R and database systems. Strong experience with deep-sequencing data (e.g. small RNA, RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, genome assembly) is essential. Postdoctoral fellows or BA/MS level candidates seeking experience before graduate school will be considered.


Start date

As soon as possible

How to Apply

Please send letter of inquiry, CV and references to laie@mskcc.org.


Contact

Eric C. Lai
laie@mskcc.org