Cancer, Genetics, and Signaling Fellows Program

The Cancer, Genetics, and Signaling (CGS) Group at the Frederick National Lab offers a highly competitive postdoctoral training and mentoring program focusing on molecular and genetic aspects of cancer. The CGS group is highly interactive and multidisciplinary and includes 25 principal investigators from 5 departments: Cancer and Developmental Biology, Cancer Prevention, Cell and Developmental Signaling, Protein Dynamics and Signaling, and Mouse Cancer Genetics. Fields of research range from identification and characterization of novel oncogenes and tumor suppressors to the control of cell proliferation and survival, epigenetics, transcriptional and translational regulation, signal transduction, mouse models of cancer and development, normal and cancer stem cells, and translational studies in preclinical models. For more detailed descriptions of the research interests of participating faculty members, please follow the links on this page.

The CGS Fellows Program is designed to attract and train exceptional postdoctoral fellows interested in independent research career tracks. Positions are internally funded; however, trainees will be encouraged to apply for outside funding such as postdoctoral training and transition grants (e.g., K99, K22). Fellows will participate in a structured mentoring program focused on scientific and career development and transition to independent positions. Supplemental funds for travel to scientific meetings will also be provided. The CGS Fellows Program features weekly laboratory meetings, a “Distinguished Scientist” seminar series and a rich research environment. Investigators in the Program have a strong history of placing our postdoctoral fellows in tenure-track assistant professor positions or equivalent positions of leadership.

The NCI Center for Cancer Research (CCR) campus in Frederick, Maryland offers state-of-the-art mouse genetics and proteomics core facilities as well as drug discovery, structural biology, and other advanced technologies.

Applicants should be within one year of receiving their Ph.D./M.D. degree and not more than two years past receiving their degree. Applications are reviewed and candidates selected for the program in the autumn of each year. A small group (8-10) of selected applicants will be invited to give a seminar on their thesis work and interview with potential mentors at Frederick National Lab. Applicants will be notified of their selection approximately 1 month prior to the interview date. All travel from within the United States and lodging expenses at Frederick will be paid for by NCI. The current application deadline is September 11, 2011, and finalists will be notified by September 15th.

The National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health is an equal opportunity/ affirmative action employer. Qualified women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

 

Participating Investigators and Research Interests:

Cancer and Developmental Biology Laboratory

Mark Lewandoski - Genetics of vertebrate development with an emphasis on FGF and BMP signaling
Susan Mackem - Regulatory networks in vertebrate patterning and morphogenesis
Alan Perantoni - Inductive signaling mechanisms in development and their dysregulation in tumorigenesis
Terry Yamaguchi - Wnt and Notch signaling pathways and vertebrate embryogenesis

Laboratory of Cancer Prevention

Nancy Colburn - AP-1, NFkappaB, and Pdcd4 roles in carcinogenesis; translational cancer prevention
Peter Johnson - Regulation of cell proliferation and tumorigenesis by C/EBP transcription factors
Jonathan Keller - Molecular regulation of normal stem cell development
Kathrin Muegge - Epigenetic regulation of chromatin function and carcinogenesis

Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Signaling

Jairaj Acharya - In vivo study of sphingolipid/phospholipid signaling
Ira Daar - Cell adhesion and movement in morphogenesis
Deborah Morrison - Molecular mechanisms of Ras pathway regulation in normal and oncogenic signaling
Esta Sterneck - Molecular mechanisms of mammary and breast tumor cell development and metastatic progression
Chistopher Westlake - Membrane trafficking pathways in primary cilium signaling and cancer

Laboratory of Protein Dynamics and Signaling

Michael Kuehn - Nodal signaling pathway in embryonic development; developmental functions of SUMO posttranslational modification
Allan Weissman - The ubiquitin system in normal cellular processes and disease
Jadranka Loncarek - Synchronization between cell- and centrosome- cycles and molecular mechanisms of centriole reduplication

Mouse Cancer Genetics Program

Steven Hou - Normal and cancer stem cell regulation in drosophila and mice
Philipp Oberdoerffer - Epigenetics of DNA damage repair and impact on tissue homeostasis, cancer and aging
Shalini Oberdoerffer - Regulation of Alternative pre-mRNA splicing in Lymphocytes
Karlyne Reilly - Modifiers, mechanisms, and mouse models of neurofibromatosis and brain tumors
Shyam Sharan - Genomic instability and breast cancer susceptibility
Brad St. Croix - Tumor angiogenesis
Lino Tessarollo - Role of neurotrophins in development and disease
Terry Van Dyke - Cancer pathways and mechanisms
Pengnian Charles Lin - Tumor microenvironment with an emphasis on inflammation and tumor angiogenesis