Phd Graduate Jobs in Indiana (NOW HIRING)

Position Details

A postdoctoral position is available in the Durbin Lab at Wells Center for Pediatrics Research to investigate how gene-environment interactions disrupt cardiac development. Congenital heart disease is the most common and most often fatal birth defect, yet its etiology is largely unknown; genetic causes show complex inheritance and incomplete penetrance thought to reflect environmental modifiers. We study maternal obesity - a rapidly rising but modifiable CHD risk factor - and its convergence with non-canonical WNT/Planar Cell Polarity signaling. Using a clinically relevant high-fat-diet model, we were first to show that maternal obesity alone causes offspring cardiac structural defects and disrupts WNT/PCP genes and proteins in the developing heart. The successful candidate will combine WNT/PCP genetic models with diet-induced maternal obesity to quantify embryonic cardiac defects and define the signaling endpoints where genetic and environmental insults converge, using mouse embryology, cardiac phenotyping, and transcriptomic and proteomic profiling. We seek a PhD or MD/PhD with a first-author publication record, mouse experience, and strong molecular biology skills; background in cardiac development, developmental programming, metabolic models, or next-generation sequencing is preferred, and candidates from adjacent fields with a clear interest in learning embryology are encouraged to apply.
The postdoctoral fellow will design and conduct experiments, analyze and interpret data, and maintain rigorous records in accordance with institutional and regulatory requirements. Project-specific duties include maintaining mouse colonies and generating embryos from control and diet-induced obese dams, performing cell culture, and analyzing embryonic cardiac tissue by histology, immunostaining, western blot, and omic profiling (transcriptomics, proteomics, and epigenomics). Additional responsibilities include preparing first-author manuscripts, presenting at lab meetings and national conferences, contributing preliminary data and text to grant applications, and pursuing individual fellowship funding. The fellow will also mentor graduate and rotation students, help manage shared lab resources, participate in collaborations within and outside the institution, and work with the PI to develop an independent research direction in preparation for the next career stage.
Indiana University is a multi-campus public research institution, and a world leader in professional, medical, and technological education with an annual operating budget of
$2.1 billion. IUSM is the largest medical school in the United States with a student body that includes over 43% women and 36% ethnic minorities. IUSM scientists and physicians were awarded over $217million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2021, setting a school record for research funding for the sixth straight year. Additionally, IUSM provides an interdisciplinary and interactive scientific environment with many multidisciplinary centers and state-of-the-art core facilities.
Indianapolis is a diverse, centrally located city that lies within 3 driving hours of other major population centers such as Chicago, Cincinnati, and Louisville. It is 14th largest city in the United States and is growing and thriving economically thanks to a strong corporate base anchored by the life sciences. Indiana is home to one of the largest concentrations of health sciences companies in the nation, which contribute over $44 billion annually to the local economy. Our dynamic downtown is a bustling commercial center, entertainment destination and residential neighborhood. The growing residential base is supported by rich amenities and quality of life - the city possesses a variety of professional sports, arts venues and outdoor recreation areas. For additional information on life in Indy, visit https://medicine.iu.edu/indianapolis.
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
IUSM is committed to being a welcoming campus community and we seek candidates whose research, teaching, and community engagement efforts contribute to robust learning and working environments for all students, staff, and faculty. We invite individuals who will join us in our mission to improve health equity and well-being for all throughout the state of Indiana.

PhD or MD/PhD in a science related field

Matthew Durbin, MD
mddurbin@iu.edu