Description
The UNC School of Medicine has a rich tradition of excellence and care. Our mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of North Carolinians, and others whom we serve. We accomplish this by providing leadership and excellence in the interrelated areas of patient care, education, and research. We strive to promote faculty, staff, and learner development in a diverse, respectful environment where our colleagues demonstrate professionalism, enhance learning, and create personal and professional sustainability. We optimize our partnership with the UNC Health System through close collaboration and commitment to service.
Roles and Responsibilities
This is a postdoctoral position that provides training for the next generation of scientists in environmental health and toxicology. There is a large and diverse inventory of inhalable chemicals with little to no data available for safety evaluation; however, addressing these data gaps using traditional in vivo animal studies is impractical due to their high cost, low throughput, and concerns regarding their biological relevance.
This research project will combine in vitro exposure technology (aerosol-compatible cell culture exposure system [ACCES]), organotypic in vitro models of the human respiratory tract, and an assay battery that will evaluate endpoints representing AOP-driven key events such as cytotoxicity, cell metabolism, epithelial barrier function, and cytokine production. In addition, the project aims accomplish benchmark dose (BMD) modeling of transcriptomic changes to determine portal of entry points of departure. There will also be opportunities for the research participant to contribute to the development high-resolution mass spectrometry methods to quantify dose deposition, cellular uptake, and metabolism to provide missing dose-metrics for ALI exposures.
The research participant will have the opportunity to collaborate with a multi-disciplinary team of toxicologists, biologists, chemists, and engineers and will utilize molecular, analytical, and computational approaches for in vitro assay development. With guidance from the mentor, the research participant will contribute to developing methods, executing lab-based experiments, and generating, analyzing, and reporting data. Preferred areas of specialized training or experience include: ALI cell culture, cell-based assay development, and pathway analysis of transcriptomic datasets.
Minimum Education and Experience Requirements
- Ph.D in Toxicology or related field.
Required Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience
- The postdoc considered for this position should have between 0 and 3 years of post-doctoral experience. The trainee must have a PhD degree in biochemistry, toxicology, molecular biology or a closely related discipline.
- Formal education and research experience in air pollution and/or chemical safety research with focus on experimental systems that define health outcomes will enhance the research experience.
Preferred Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience
- Formal education and research experience in cell culture technique and molecular analysis of responses are desirable.
- Demonstrated education and/or experience in cellular toxicity testing with particular focus on inhalation toxicology and in vitro exposure systems are preferred.
- Additional interest in computational biology and pathway analysis with associated experience in commercial software applications is appreciated.
- Mammalian cell culture, preferably air-liquid interface (ALI) cell culture and organotypic airway models.
- Development and optimization of cell-based toxicity assays.
- Benchmark dose modeling and pathway analysis of transcriptomic datasets.
- Operation and maintenance of ALI exposure systems.
- Experience in conducting PFAS inhalation exposure.
- Analytical chemistry experience in extraction and preparation of cell and tissue samples for LC-MS analysis.
- Ability to coordinate exposure schedules and data distribution.
- Data management, including written reports of laboratory activities, instrument status, system modifications, and data summaries.
- Present data and results in internal meetings and/or professional conferences.
- Contribute to formal publication of research findings through public reports or journal articles.
- Good interpersonal and language skills.
