Postdoc Employee - Transposons Research - Molecular and Cell Biology

The He lab is in the Molecular and Cell Biology department at UC-Berkeley, which encompasses a breadth of disciplines spanning all levels of organization and encompassing diverse organisms. The breath of training, combined with the unique location of Berkeley in the center of biomedical research, offer a nurturing environment for the next-generation scientist to launch on a successful career in biomedical research in academia and industry. The Principal Investigator, Dr. Lin He, was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship (the genius award), the Searle Scholar, a HHMI Faculty Scholar, and is currently a Thomas and Stacey Siebel distinguished chair professor at UC-Berkeley, and a biohub investigator with the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI).

The developmental and physiological complexity of a given organism is not governed by the sheer number of protein-coding genes. In mammals, the numerous functional non-coding elements greatly expand gene regulatory modality and diversify functional reservoir. Using human genetics/genomics, mouse genetics/genomics, cell and molecular biology approaches, the He lab at UC-Berkeley has identified a variety of functional non-coding elements, including transposons and non-coding RNAs. Not only do non-coding elements offer important developmental/physiological functions, they also provide us with a unique angle to discover new biological/cellular processes in development and disease. Combining sophisticated genome engineering and innovative live cell imaging, we have pioneered in vivo studies to elucidate the new cellular functions and molecular mechanisms in development and aging. The discoveries of the He lab have been well recognized by publications in prestigious journals, including Nature, Science and Cell. Currently, there are postdoc openings in two projects.

Transposons in mammalian preimplantation development ~40% of mammalian genome originates from transposons, whose abundance greatly exceeds that of protein genes. While historically viewed as degenerated "parasitic" DNAs, transposons yield numerous functional elements for the host genome. These sequences resulted from ancient invasion confer new mechanisms of gene regulation, generate Neogene/ncRNA functions, and provide raw material for genome innovation. Mammalian preimplantation embryos constitute one of the best systems to study transposon-host interactions, as ~20% of their transcriptome results from transposon induction. We aim to characterize the role of specific transposons in preimplantation embryos.

Transposons in aging and disease While specific transposons are integral components of host biology, most mammalian transposons are potentially detrimental to the host genomes, thus inactivated via degenerative mutations and/or transcriptional/post-transcriptional silencing. Interestingly, aberrant transposon induction has been observed in a variety of pathological conditions, including aging, cancer and infection. We aim to investigate the mechanisms underlying transposon dysregulation during reproductive aging and cancer, and to elucidate the effects of transposon-host interactions that accelerate aging and promote cancer.

Postdoc responsibilities:

1) The postdoc will work with the PI to develop a project in one of the two research directions, to comprehensively read literature, to establish appropriate experimental systems, to learn important technologies, and to execute experiments to advance the project and perform data analyses.

2) The postdoc will meet with the PI on a weekly basis to discuss results, to development experimental plans.

2) The postdoc will work with junior lab members to mentor them on specific experimental techniques .

3) The postdoc will contribute to lab duties, which is evenly distributed among all lab members.

Lab: https://www.helabucb.org/

PhD (or equivalent international degree) or enrolled in a PhD degree program (or equivalent international degree)

Ph.D. (or equivalent international degree) required by the appointment start date. No more than three years of post-degree research experience by the start date.

Ph.D. in developmental biology, Genetics, Genomics, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry or related field are all welcome to apply. Prior research experiences in mammalian development and disease are preferred.

• 3-5 required (contact information only)

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