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The Liya Pi’s Laboratory is seeking a highly motivated and talented Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join our team. Our research investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms driving hepatic inflammation and liver fibrosis in chronic liver disease progression. Specifically, this project focuses on how the gut-liver axis interacts with dietary insults (such as chronic alcohol consumption, high-fat diets, and metabolic stressors) to trigger hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and immune microenvironment remodeling.
The successful candidate will lead projects exploring how microbial translocation and metabolic dysregulation impair anti-tumor immunity, promote a pro-fibrotic niche, and accelerate transition into hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This role offers an exceptional opportunity to utilize advanced in vivo models and cutting-edge translational techniques in a highly collaborative research environment.
- Design and execute in vivo mouse models of chronic liver disease, including dietary, alcoholic, and tumor-induction models (e.g., Lieber-DeCarli, NASH/MASH, and HCC models).
- Isolate and immunophenotype primary liver cells (Kupffer cells, HSCs, NK cells, and T-cells).
- Perform multi-color flow cytometry, single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and advanced imaging to profile the immune microenvironment.
- Investigate gut barrier function and microbial ecology using multi-omics approaches.
- Analyze data, draft high-impact manuscripts, and present research at national and international conferences.
- Assist in mentoring graduate and undergraduate students within the laboratory.
Required Qualifications
- Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. in Immunology, Molecular Biology, Gastroenterology/Hepatology, or a closely related biomedical field.
- Extensive, hands-on experience handling mice and executing in vivo disease models.
- Proficient in standard wet-lab immunology techniques (flow cytometry, cell culture, Western blot, qPCR, IHC).
- Strong track record of productivity, evidenced by first-author publications in peer-reviewed journals.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
- Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team.
Preferred Qualifications
- Prior experience working specifically with mouse models of liver fibrosis or liver cancer.
- Familiarity with primary murine hepatic cell isolation (HSCs, hepatocytes, or intrahepatic lymphocytes).
- Basic computational skills for processing transcriptomic or microbiome datasets.