Career Center

The Laboratory of Dr. Chaolin Zhang in the Department of Systems Biology, The Laboratory of Maura Boldrini, Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Scientist with computational biology background to conduct research on adult neurogenesis in ageing and Alzheimer's disease (AD). 

Zhang Laboratory:

Taking a multidisciplinary approach that tightly integrates biochemistry, molecular biology, genome engineering and high-throughput data analysis and integrative modeling, the Zhang Laboratory studies how RNA and proteins interact to form regulatory networks in the nervous system at the mechanistic and systems levels, how these networks contribute to intrinsic neuronal functional properties, and how such properties are implicated in health and disease.  Given the complexity of the nervous system, an important recent direction of the lab is to understand neuronal subtype-specific regulation, leveraging advance in single cell genomic technologies.  We are working to translate fundamental discoveries to RNA-based precision medicine for devastating disorders with unmet medical needs.  The Zhang lab consist of a group of inspired and creative scientists from diverse background.  Recent lab members have successfully transitioned into prominent academic and pharmaceutical industry positions.  More information about the Zhang laboratory can be found at http://zhanglab.c2b2.columbia.edu. 

Boldrini Laboratory:

Maura Boldrini, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia Medical College, Director of the Quantitative Brain Biology Institute (Brain QUANT). The Institute's mission is to apply cutting edge quantitative neuroscience methods to postmortem human brain tissue to understand how the human brain functions, and the pathogenesis of brain diseases. In her laboratory, Dr. Boldrini is studying brain circuits involved in depression, suicide, aging  and other neurodegenerative conditions. The Boldrini lab focuses on understanding cellular and molecular mechanisms of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional changes associated with brain diseases. She has been investigating neurochemical aspects of brain transmission, to find better treatments for brain disorders. She has extensively studied neuron re-growth in the human brain and has shown the potential for adult neurogenesis throughout our lifetime. These new neurons are necessary for learning and copying with stress, for cognitive functions, successful aging, and mental health. Most recently she has been studying how inflammation and COVID affect brain function. Her lab has been fostering a diverse group of motivated and innovative scientists and students, who have gone on to exciting careers in science and academia.

The candidates will participate in and lead exciting collaborative projects that aim to understand molecular mechanisms implicated in aging and neuronal degeneration.  The candidates will have the opportunity to work on large scale, multi-modal, single cell and spatial transcriptomic and proteomic datasets generated from high quality, post-mortem healthy and Alzheimer's Disease brains using cutting-edge technologies.  Robust computational analysis pipelines that integrate established and new methods will be developed to perform integrative analysis of these datasets to characterize cell populations and genes impaired in disease and/or ageing.  The candidates will work in a dynamic environment and work closely with both computational and experimental biologists in and outside the labs.  Strong mentorship will be provided to help them achieve their career goals.

1. A Ph.D. degree in Computational or Systems Biology, Bioinformatics, Computer Sciences, or related fields.

2. A genuine interest in solving complex biological problems using quantitative approaches.

3. Extensive experience in high-throughput genomic data analysis.  Experience working with single cell transcriptomic data is a plus.

4. Solid programing skills (eg., python/perl).

5. Solid statistical and quantitative analysis skills. Experience in statistical modeling and machine learning is a plus. 

6. Highly motivated and ability to work independently as well as to collaborate in a team setting.

7. Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

8. A minimal of one first-author paper published in related peer-reviewed journals.

Applicants should send a curriculum vitae and names and contacts of three references by email to:

1. Dr. Chaolin Zhang, PhD

Associate Professor

Department of Systems Biology

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics

cz2294@columbia.edu

2. Dr. Maura Boldrini

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Director, Quantitative Brain Biology Institute (Brain QUANT)

Department of Psychiatry

mb928@cumc.columbia.edu

Columbia University is an Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

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