Research Assistant - Lin Lab

Research assistant positions are available in MMRI Lin lab to investigate the role of cardiomyocyte innate immune responses in heart diseases.

Cardiomyocytes (CMs) are building blocks and functional units of the heart, and their dysfunction or loss is the root of heart failure. Similar with other specialized innate immune cells, CMs have their own innate immune molecular machinery. Ischemic or non-ischemic pathological stress activates CM innate immune signaling pathways, which stimulate pro-inflammatory cytokine release and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. These innate immune responses are beneficial for defending CMs against pathogen invasion and for tissue repair, but can also cause myocardial damage.

My lab's long-term goal is to define novel molecular mechanisms that regulate CM innate immune responses, which will shed light on the pathogenesis of pathogen or non-pathogen related cardiomyopathy. To reach our goal, we perform tissue-specific gene gain- and loss-of-function studies to analyze the pathophysiological roles of Hippo-YAP pathway in the heart. We also use Adeno-associated-virus (AAV) and modified messenger RNA as gene delivery platforms to carry out translational studies, aiming to develop drug candidates for treating cardiovascular diseases.

References:

1. Chen, J., Ma, Q., King, J.S., Sun, Y., Xu, B., Zhang, X., Zohrabian, S., Guo, H., Cai, W., Li, G., Bruno, I., Cooke, J.P., Wang, C., Kontaridis, M., Wang, D.Z., Luo, H., Pu, W.T. and Lin, Z. (2020) aYAP modRNA reduces cardiac inflammation and hypertrophy in a murine ischemia-reperfusion model. Life Sci Alliance 3,

2. Gao, Y., Sun, Y., Ercan-Sencicek, A.G., King, J.S., Akerberg, B.N., Ma, Q., Kontaridis, M.I., Pu, W.T. and Lin, Z. (2021) YAP/TEAD1 Complex Is a Default Repressor of Cardiac Toll-Like Receptor Genes. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22, 6649.

Requirements

4-Year Degree in Biology. Molecular biology experience is a plus but not required.

The candidate should be highly motivated, career driven, independent, team working, reliable and have a molecular biology or cell biology background. The candidate should also be willing to work with mice and manage mice colonies. The research assistant will manage mouse colonies, isolate and culture cardiomyocytes, perform western blots and qRT-PCR, carry out routine molecular cloning and histology analysis.

Salary Description

$19.25