Postdoctoral Fellow (Host-Microbiome Biology/Organ-on-Chip Models)

Location: Farmington, Connecticut, United States

Salary: $65,589–$75,569 per year, based on years of postdoctoral experience.

Company

hirify.global is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution and National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center focused on genetics, genomics, biomedical research, and human disease.

What you will do

• Establish, maintain, and characterize patient-derived human intestinal organoids from nonmalignant and colorectal cancer tissues.
• Integrate organoid-derived epithelia into perfused, hypoxia-enabled gut-on-a-chip and other microphysiological systems.
• Design controlled bacterial-epithelial coculture experiments to study host-microbiome interactions, epithelial cellular states, function, and disease-associated phenotypes.
• Apply microscopy, gene-expression analysis, immunofluorescence, and quantitative functional assays to investigate epithelial responses and molecular mechanisms.
• Integrate functional studies with transcriptomic and other molecular profiling approaches to identify host pathways involved in epithelial regulation and disease susceptibility.
• Contribute to publications, grant applications, and interdisciplinary collaborations with clinician-scientists, bioengineers, immunologists, and microbiome researchers.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in bioengineering, microbiology, cell and molecular biology, cancer biology, or a related field.
• Strong hands-on research experience in cell and tissue engineering, 3D organoid culture, primary epithelial cell culture, or microphysiological systems.
• Strong experimental background in cellular and molecular biology, including microscopy, immunofluorescence, gene-expression analysis, and quantitative functional assays.
• At least one first-author publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
• Excellent writing and communication skills, with the ability to work independently and effectively with other team members.

Nice to have

• Experience with organ-on-a-chip technologies, microfluidics, bacterial culture, or host-microbe coculture.
• Research experience in gastrointestinal biology, host-microbiome interactions, cancer biology, epithelial plasticity, or aging.
• Experience with transcriptomics, multi-omics approaches, or in vivo models.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time postdoctoral training in a multidisciplinary, interactive research environment with advanced core services and mouse resources.
• Opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration with Connecticut Children’s, the University of Connecticut, UConn Health, and Duke University.
• Professional development in science communication, entrepreneurship, teaching, mentoring, and laboratory management.
• Support is available for academic and non-academic long-term career goals, including for international candidates, women, and candidates from all backgrounds.

Hiring process

• Submit all three required application components; incomplete applications will not be considered.
• Provide a cover letter summarizing research training and accomplishments, a personal statement of scientific interests and career goals limited to one page, and a current CV with publications and contact information for three references.