Postdoctoral Scholar

Postdoctoral Scholar Position

The Taha Jan Lab at UCSF is seeking a highly motivated and creative postdoctoral fellow to study development and regeneration of the inner ear’s auditory and vestibular systems. We study regeneration in the context of injury models of the hearing and balance organs. By leveraging cutting edge computational tools, combined with systems biology approaches and in vivo models, we aim to decipher mechanisms of mammalian hair cell regeneration.

There are three main areas of research interest:

1. Mitotic hair cell and supporting cell regeneration in the inner ear: Using an in vivo hair cell ablation model combined with single cell RNA seq and lineage tracing experiments, we aim to gain an in-depth understanding of mitotic hair cell regeneration.

2. In vivo inner ear injury model development: We look to develop an in vivo viral injury model and leverage single cell RNA seq tools to study the inner ear's response to viral transfection. This is a clinically relevant topic in the context of cytomegalovirus and inner ear gene therapy with a focus on the inner ear’s immune system.

3. Development of the application of novel techniques to study the inner ear’s immune response and hair cell regeneration.

Required qualifications:

● PhD or MD/PhD in neuroscience, immunology, stem cell biology, or a related field

● Expertise in immunofluorescence, confocal microscopy, and imaging

● Experience in working with murine models

● Record of publication in peer-reviewed journals

● Excellent problem-solving skills

● Excellent communication, leadership, and project management skills

● Ability to independently design and execute experiments, interpret data, and identify appropriate follow-up strategies

● Desire to learn computational skills, including working in R and Python

● Highly motivated, curious and detail-oriented scientist

Preferred qualifications:

● Experience in auditory sciences, neurosciences, or stem cell fields

● Coding skills in R and/or Python

● Experience with cell/molecular biology and biochemistry techniques (e.g. cell cultures of mammalian cells, molecular cloning, transfection/transduction).

● Advanced confocal microscopy imaging skills

Apply by sending a current CV, cover letter, and two reference contacts as one PDF to Taha Jan (taha.jan@ucsf.edu).

UCSF is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.