Career Center

The Strominger Lab seeks a scientist with 0-5 years of postdoctoral experience to participate in an ongoing research program focused on the regulation of expression of the Class 1 MHC proteins HLA-C, HLA-E, and HLA-G, in the maternal-fetal interface and their role in tolerance and infections. We are particularly interested in pregnancy complications (e.g., preterm birth and preeclampsia) which may result from dysregulation of their expression at the decidua during pregnancy, as well as in transplantation tolerance and infection (e.g., CMV). This position offers full funding for a two-year period for work within the scope of recent publications from the laboratory as defined by the attached materials, see: additional qualifications. Salary is in the range of 55-90K per year depending on experience and record, plus full Harvard benefits. 

Ph.D. or M.D. scientist should have a strong working knowledge of biochemical and/or biomolecular techniques, as well as research background in related studies.

Applicants may wish to familiarize themselves: with the following materials:

 

 

1.     HLA-C

Li Q, Meissner TB, Wang F, Du Z, Ma S, Kshirsagar S, Tilburgs T, Buenrostro JD, Uesugi M, Strominger JL.  ELF3 activated by a super-1 enhancer and an autoregulatory feedback loop is required for high level HLA-C expression on extravillous trophoblasts.  Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Mar 2;118(9):e2025512118. 

 

Papúchová H, Meissner TB, Li Q, Strominger JL, Tilburgs T. The Dual Role of HLA-C in Tolerance and Immunity at the Maternal-Fetal Interface. Front Immunol. 2019 Dec 9;10:2730. 

 

2.     HLA-G

Ferreira LM, Meissner TB, Tilburgs T, Strominger JL. HLA-G: At the Interface of Maternal-Fetal Tolerance. Trends Immunol. 2017 Apr;38(4):272-286 (Review).

 

Ferreira LM, Meissner TB, Mikkelsen TS, Mallard W, O'Donnell CW, Tilburgs T, Gomes HA, Camahort R, Sherwood RI, Gifford DK, Rinn JL, Cowan CA, Strominger JL. A distant trophoblast-specific enhancer controls HLA-G expression at the maternal-fetal interface. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 May 10;113(19):5364-9. 

 

3.     Extravillous Trophoblasts

Papuchova H, Kshirsagar S, Xu L, Bougleux Gomes HA, Li Q, Iyer V, Norwitz ER, Strominger JL, Tilburgs T.  Three types of HLA-G+ extravillous trophoblasts that have distinct immune regulatory properties. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Jul 7;117(27):15772-15777.

 

4.     MHC Class I Gene Regulation

Meissner TB, Liu YJ, Lee KH, Li A, Biswas A, van Eggermond MC, van den Elsen PJ, Kobayashi KS. NLRC5 cooperates with the RFX transcription factor complex to induce MHC class I gene expression. J Immunol. 2012 May 15;188(10):4951-8. 

 

Meissner TB, Li A, Biswas A, Lee KH, Liu YJ, Bayir E, Iliopoulos D, van den Elsen PJ, Kobayashi KS. NLR family member NLRC5 is a transcriptional regulator of MHC class I genes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Aug 3;107(31):13794-9.

 

5.     Transplantation Tolerance

Han X, Wang M, Duan S, Franco PJ, Kenty J H-R, Hedrick P, Xia Y, Allen A, Ferreira LMR, Strominger JL, Melton DA, Meissner TB, Cowan CA.  Generation of hypoimmunogenic human pluripotent stem cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019;116(21):10441-10446. 

 

6.     Infection

Crespo ÂC, Mulik S, Dotiwala F, Ansara JA, Sen Santara S, Ingersoll K, Ovies C, Junqueira C, Tilburgs T, Strominger JL, Lieberman J.  Decidual NK Cells Transfer Granulysin to Selectively Kill Bacteria in Trophoblasts. Cell. 2020 Sep 3;182(5):1125-1139.

For administrative questions, contact Faculty Assistant Tim Fenn at tfenn@fas.harvard.edu. 

For further details, contact Professor Jack Strominger at jlstrom@fas.harvard.edu.  

To apply, please submit a cover letter, CV, and three letters of reference through the ARIES application system.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions or any other characteristic protected by law.