Job Postings

Multiple Post-Doctoral Positions

Multiple postdoctoral positions are available for highly motivated candidates to join our research team at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. We conduct cutting-edge basic and translational research in pulmonary fibrosis, focusing on genetics, genomics, epigenetics, animal models, and molecular determinants of human pulmonary fibrosis. Our group identified a gain-of-function genetic variant in the airway mucin MUC5B as the key predisposition factor for development of early and established forms of the pulmonary fibrosis and are now pursuing projects in functional genomics to understand how MUC5B causes lung fibrosis. Current funded projects include:

• Mechanism regulating lung injury and early lung fibrosis with an emphasis on MUC5B, ER stress, apoptosis, cilia function and mucus clearance, and biophysical dysfunction of distal airway epithelia
• Characterization of novel animal model of Muc5b-driven lung fibrosis
• Role of lncRNAs in modifying the genetic susceptibility in pulmonary fibrosis
• Understand how the gain-of-function MUC5B promoter variant affects transcriptional regulation and gene expression in distinct types of MUC5B-driven usual interstitial pneumonia (using snRNAseq, snATACseq, and spatial transcriptomics)
• Early diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of interstitial lung disease
• Determine the genetic variants in IPF among non-European populations

  In the laboratory, we use genome editing approaches to manipulate genetic variants and expression of key genes in primary cell and animal models. Computational approaches include genetic screens for genes that interact with MUC5B, identification of biomarkers of early disease, and single cell and spatial transcriptomic technologies. Our ultimate goal is to understand the early mechanisms of lung fibrosis, develop biomarkers for early detection, and ultimately identify therapeutics for early treatment of disease.