Job Description
Postdoctoral positions are immediately available in the laboratory of Dr. Shiv Grewal, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, CCR, NCI, NIH. The Grewal lab aims to uncover fundamental principles governing the assembly and epigenetic inheritance of heterochromatin, a repressive form of chromatin that controls gene expression and protects genome stability. The major focus of the lab is on understanding how highly conserved RNA-based mechanisms and chromatin modifying activities assemble heterochromatin at specific sites across the genome, and how repressive chromatin structures are epigenetically inherited. Current projects seek to define the roles of novel RNA processing factors in the formation of large heterochromatin domains and uncover the mechanisms by which modified histones provide an epigenetic template to propagate repressive chromatin, which is critical for stable maintenance of gene expression patterns during development. In other exciting areas of interest, the lab is exploring how heterochromatin assembly impacts 3D genome organization and investigating adaptive genome control, in which heterochromatic structures are dynamically modulated in response to environmental or developmental cues to allow appropriate gene expression profiles.
Qualifications and Job Details
Required and Preferred Skills
The ideal candidates will have a strong background in epigenetic gene regulation.
About the NCI Center for Cancer Research
The Center for Cancer Research (CCR) is home to nearly 250 basic and clinical research groups located on two campuses just outside of Washington, D.C. CCR is part of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and makes up the largest component of the research effort at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Centrally supported by long-term funding and a culture of complete intellectual freedom, CCR scientists are able to pursue the most important and challenging problems in cancer research. We collaborate with academic and commercial partners and advocacy groups across the world in efforts to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer and HIV/AIDS. The CCR research portfolio covers the full spectrum of biological and biomedical research. Our work ranges from basic to translational and clinical, and our clinical trials are conducted in the NIH Clinical Center, the world’s largest hospital dedicated to clinical research that offers a robust infrastructure to support CCR’s patients on an estimated 250 open studies. The success of CCR is grounded in an exceptionally strong discovery research program that provides the foundation for the seamless translation of insights from bench to bedside. Read more about CCR, the benefits of working at CCR and hear from our staff on their CCR experiences.
Bethesda
Bethesda is one of the most highly educated communities in the United States and has a nationally renowned school system. The city is a thriving suburban center close to Washington, D.C., and home to many restaurants, retailers and a flourishing arts and entertainment district.