POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

The Position

The Position:

We are looking for a highly motivated researcher, who is passionate about making scientific discoveries that have the potential to impact human health, for a joint Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Riggi (Cellular and Tissue Genomics Department, CTG) and Moussion (Cancer Immunology, CI) labs within Genentech. This Postdoctoral Fellow will lead projects that will advance our understanding on the role of distinct transcriptional programs and cellular states in cancer, with a particular emphasis on tumor-immune communications. The project will be in close collaboration with the Li lab in Computational Sciences, which will support multi-modal data analyses.

The successful applicant will have an opportunity to collaborate across multiple groups whose expertise spans different scientific disciplines and approaches, in particular cancer immunology and molecular/discovery oncology. They will deploy innovative genomics and epigenomics technologies to identify and validate new therapeutic strategies to modulate the crosstalk between tumor and immune cells, and improve response to therapy.

The applicant will also have access to our cutting-edge research campus, equipped with the most advanced biomedical, experimental, and computational technologies. Scientific insights resulting from this research are expected to be presented at scientific conferences and published in high-impact journals. Opportunities for the clinical translation of new discoveries are also in place.

Responsibilities:

* Lead the experimental direction of projects and collaborate with other Scientists and a computational Postdoc (To-be-hired in another job ad) to move the projects forward.

* Initiate and foster intra- and inter-departmental collaborations that will streamline and accelerate the development of the projects.

Qualifications:

* Candidates must have a PhD graduate in molecular, cellular, or cancer biology, or a related biological or biomedical science.

* Have solid technical skills. Experience with mammalian cell lines and lentiviral vectors, -omics technologies (epigenomics, single-cell, CRISPR) are highly desired.

* Robust experience with epigenetic data analysis (e.g. ChIP-seq, CUT&TAG, ATAC, Hi-C) is highly desired.

* Be technically rigorous, curious, and creative. Show enthusiasm in tackling complex biological problems and vigorous scientific logic.

* Have advanced at least one key research project as evidenced by a first-author paper published or accepted in a respected peer-reviewed journal.

* Have excellent communication skills and a collaborative and collegial mindset.

For information about the Postdoctoral Program at Genentech, please go to: https://www.gene.com/careers/university-and-early-career/postdocs

Riggi Lab:

Nicolo Riggi is a Sr. Principal scientist and the Director of the CTG-Oncology group within the Department of Cellular and Tissue Genomics. His lab focuses on the identification of the epigenetic mechanisms driving malignant transformation, as well as intratumoral heterogeneity in different cancer types. The Riggi's laboratory is particularly interested in understanding the initial deregulation of epigenetic transcriptional programs allowing the transformation of permissive cell of origin, and the subsequent development of intratumoral heterogeneity fostering tumor progression, relapse and resistance to therapy. The Riggi's group utilizes a translational approach involving cutting-edge single cell, spatial transcriptomics and epigenetic technologies to identify clinically relevant new therapeutic targets and biomarkers that can lead to a rapid bench-to-bed translation of the most impactful findings. Nicolo Riggi received his MD from the University of Lausanne in 2001. During his MD-PhD training at the University Hospital of Lausanne, in the Department of Experimental Pathology, under the supervision of Ivan Stamenkovic he focused on the molecular underpinnings driving cellular permissiveness toward selected oncogenes, and on how different cell states and differentiation trajectories affect the ability to initiate tumor formation by different oncogenic events. In 2009 he joined the Department of Clinical Pathology, where he started his residency in general pathology, and in 2011 he moved to the MGH in Boston for a Research Fellowship, where he combined clinical training in Pathology with a PostDoc in cancer epigenetics in the labs of Brad Bernstein and Miguel Rivera. In 2015 he was appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Experimental Pathology at University Hospital of Lausanne, where during 7 years he combined primary 3D tumor models with cutting-edge epigenetic and single cell technologies to understand how genetic, epigenetic and microenvironmental factors influence tumor progression and heterogeneity, with the goal to identify new strategies that can blunt tumor aggressiveness.

Moussion Lab:

The Moussion lab studies mechanisms of resistance to Immunotherapy in solid tumors by leveraging a novel in vivo high content imaging platform named STAMP (Ortiz-Muñoz et al, Nature, 2023). We are seeking a highly motivated, creative and collaborative Postdoctoral fellow to perform discovery research focusing on the immunobiology of the tumor microenvironment with an emphasis on antigen presentation, immune cell trafficking, imaging and cancer. By combining innovative imaging technology with genetic and pharmacological tools the successful candidate will pursue basic discoveries and reverse translational research effort from human pathology to mouse models to improve the outcome of Immunotherapies in the treatment of solid tumors. The ultimate goal of this postdoctoral project would be to inflame Immune desert tumors focusing on Small Cell Lung Cancer models. Dr. Moussion received her PhD from the University of Toulouse (France) where she studied the role of Dendritic cells in the control of lymphocyte migration from blood to lymph node at IPBS. She then moved to IST Austria in Vienna as a Postdoctoral fellow to study the mechanisms of Dendritic cells migration from peripheral tissue to the draining lymph node through the lymphatic circulation. In 2016, Dr. Moussion joined Genentech as a group leader in the Cancer Immunology Department. Her group bridges basic science and drug discovery to target novel cellular and molecular mechanisms that limit the recruitment of leukocytes in the context of an anti-tumor Immune response. By combining innovative high-throughput in vivo imaging technologies (Ortiz-Munoz, Nature 2023) with genetic and pharmacological tools, her group pursues discoveries of novel biological pathways from mouse models to human pathology to improve the outcome of Immunotherapies in the treatment of solid tumors.

The expected salary range for this position based on the primary location of California is $64,800 and $120,500. Actual pay will be determined based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, and other job-related factors permitted by law. This position also qualifies for the benefits detailed at the link provided below.

Benefits

Genentech is an equal opportunity employer, and we embrace the increasingly diverse world around us. Genentech prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin or ancestry, age, disability, marital status and veteran status.

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