Postdoctoral Researcher

A postdoctoral training position is available in the laboratory of Dr. Jean-Laurent Casanova, in the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense at UT Southwestern Medical Center to investigate the genetic and immunological basis of human disease under the supervision of Dr. Bertrand Boisson.

The Casanova laboratory employs a diverse array of methodologies to discover the causes and mechanisms of severe or fatal illness in some individuals during their initial infection, contrasting with the resilience of most people to the same infection. To efficiently address this challenging question, our lab is structured into five collaborative research teams, each dedicated to investigating specific themes (three infections, a mechanism of disease, and a methodological approach).

Dr. Bertrand Boisson leads the laboratory’s pyogenic infection research program. Using innovative genome-wide approaches, his team identifies disease-causing genetic variants in children with invasive staphylococcal or pneumococcal disease and uncovers novel mechanisms underlying severe bacterial infections. They investigate the genetic predisposition to isolated congenital asplenia (ICA) and the function and disorders associated with the canonical NF-κB pathway in humans, with particular emphasis on disorders associated with its dysregulation, including autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

Our research is funded by HHMI, several NIH grants and the Lupus Research Alliance. The candidate will learn genetic approaches to identify candidate variants and genes in individual patients and cohorts. They will test hypotheses of genetic homogeneity at the variant and gene levels, as well as genetic heterogeneity. They will perform short- and long-read whole-genome sequencing and transcriptomics, cellular biology, cell culture, spectral flow cytometry, and high-throughput bioinformatic analyses.

Information on our postdoctoral training program, benefits, and a virtual tour can be found at http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/postdocs. Candidates must hold a recent Ph.D. and/or M.D. Degree. Experience in molecular biology, cell culture, and bioinformatics is required. Knowledge of flow cytometry, including sample preparation, antibody staining, instrument operation, and data analysis, would be an advantage.