Post Doctoral.Post Doctoral.Associate

The Butterworth Laboratory in the Department of Cell Biology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is recruiting a postdoctoral scholar to study sex-specific regulation of microRNAs in acute kidney injury (AKI). The successful candidate will lead investigation of how microRNA-dependent pathways shape the tubular epithelial response to ischemia-reperfusion injury, using an integrated pipeline spanning in vivo mouse injury models, primary and immortalized renal epithelial cell culture, and RNA-seq–based transcriptomic analysis. The position offers a rich, collaborative training environment with active NIH funding and ties to renal physiology, molecular biology, and computational biology communities across Pitt.

• Design and execute mouse ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) studies, including survival surgery, genotype/sex-stratified cohort management, and tissue harvest

• Perform qPCR-based validation of microRNA and target gene expression from kidney tissue and cultured cells

• Maintain and manipulate primary renal epithelial cell cultures for mechanistic follow-up studies

• Conduct RNA-seq data analysis to identify and interpret sex- and genotype-dependent transcriptional programs

• Integrate wet-bench and bioinformatic findings to test and refine hypotheses regarding microRNA-dependent regulation of the AKI response

• Draft a Postdoctoral Career Development Plan with the guidance of the mentor, including plans for publications and grant submissions

• Participate in regular research project meetings with the mentor and relevant collaborators

• Participate in regular meetings with other Postdoctoral Associates and Scholars

• Publish at least two journal articles per year as first author

• PhD in Cell Biology, Physiology, Molecular Biology, or a related discipline

• Hands-on experience with in vivo mouse models, ideally including a kidney injury models

• Demonstrated proficiency in qPCR and molecular biology techniques

• Experience with both primary cell culture and established cell line maintenance

• Experience with RNA-seq data analysis (e.g., differential expression workflows such as DESeq2) strongly preferred

• US citizen or permanent resident

• Ability to independently perform research in the above areas with mentoring from a faculty member

• Ability to write and publish journal articles

• Travel funds will be provided for attendance at a relevant national conference

• Attend OACD Workshops

The University of Pittsburgh is an equal opportunity employer / disability / veteran.