Career Center

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey is seeking a Research Associate III for the Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Genetics within the New Jersey Medical School. Under the direction of the Principal Investigator (PI), the Postdoctoral Fellow will investigate the cell biology underlying interactions between macrophages and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The major focus will be understanding how post-translational modifications of host proteins impact the initiation, progression, and resolution of key innate immune pathways like cytosolic DNA sensing and selective autophagy. In addition, proteomics approaches and genetic screens will be employed to identify novel players in these pathways, including host proteins and bacterial factors. Validation of both previously identified and newly discovered factors will be performed using a combination of M. tuberculosis genetics (knockout and complemented strains, transposon screens, etc.), macrophage genetics (CRISPR knockout macrophages, epitope-tagged expression lines, mammalian CRISPR screens, etc.), biochemistry (immunoprecipitations, mass spectrometry, ubiquitination/phosphorylation assays, etc.), molecular biology (RT-qPCR, RNA-seq, etc.), cell biology (immunofluorescence, protein studies/western blots, etc.), and mouse infection models. The work from these studies will deepen our understanding of the molecular interface between the host macrophage and intracellular M. tuberculosis, promoting the development of more effective therapies to treat TB.

Among the key duties of this position are the following: