The Zhou lab at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School is recruiting 1-2 postdoc fellows to join the team. We are interested in unveiling how an ecological community of diverse cell types constitutes a functional ensemble that maintains tissue homeostasis, and how dysregulation of the underlying cellular mechanisms leads to tissue pathology, particularly in inflammatory disorders. Our long-term goal is to leverage such information to program modules of cell circuits to combat human diseases. We use a combination of mammalian tissue culture, mouse models, immunological analysis, live-cell imaging, genetics, genomics and computational approaches towards this goal. Our research interests include communication between immune and non-immune cell types (macrophages, fibroblasts, epithelial cells) as well as the interaction between immune cells and their microenvironment. The on-going projects include:
- Macrophage-fibroblast circuit communication in the context of inflammation.
- Roles of sensing tissue microenvironment in immune response.
- Novel approaches to identify cell-cell interactions and program innate immune response.
Please send a cover letter briefly stating your research interests, CV, contact of 3 references to Xu Zhou (xu.zhou@childrens.harvard.edu). Candidates with experience in immunology, physiology, animal disease models, systems biology or relevant fields are encouraged to apply, but not required.
About the PI: Xu obtained his Ph.D. with Dr. Erin O’Shea at Harvard University, studying systems biology and transcriptional regulation. He then completed his postdoctoral training with Dr. Ruslan Medzhitov at Yale University School of Medicine, investigating the mechanisms of tissue homeostasis and inflammation. The Zhou Lab locates in the Enders Building of Boston Children’s Hospital, surrounded by Harvard Medical School and affiliated research institutes and hospitals. More about the PI can be found here: https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/196213.
