A postdoctoral position is available as part of a collaboration between the Center for Perinatal Discovery, Department of OB/GYN & RS, and Department of Pathology at UCSD and the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance to develop a stem-cell based approach to recovering a functionally extinct sub-species, the northern white rhino. The immediate goal of this project is to perform a comparative analysis of early embryonic development between the northern white rhino and the human and the mouse, which are species in which stem cell and developmental biology approaches are more advanced. By performing directed differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for each species followed by multi-omic analyses on the resulting lineage-committed cells (focusing on the trophoblast and germ cell lineages), we aim to understand the similarities and differences between these species in early developmental pathways. This position is ideal for someone that enjoys using bioinformatics to understand the biological relevance of differences in genome sequence, structure, regulation. The postdoctoral fellow will collaborate closely with investigators at both institutions and will likely participate in research activities at both institutions (UC San Diego and the San Diego Zoo).
The successful candidate is highly self-motivated, with strong communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to work independently, has a PhD with a strong background in computational biology and the ability to interpret/apply the results to biological systems. Experience with iPSCs and directed differentiation and/or molecular genetics techniques are beneficial, but not required.
Please send a brief statement of research/career goals, curriculum vitae, earliest possible start date, and names of three references to llaurent@health.ucsd.edu.