February/March 2023 NEWSLETTER

WEBINARS

We invite you to view recordings of HIRN webinars on our YouTube Channel! The presentations are a showcase of HIRN advancements and resources for the greater scientific community. The most recent webinar was a joint presentation by Dr Audrey Parent (Univ. California, San Francisco) and Dr. Karla Leavens (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) on “Stem Cell-based Platforms to Model Human Autoimmune Diabetes”.

WOLF PRIZE AWARD

University of Chicago chemist Chuan He has been awarded the prestigious Wolf Prize in chemistry for his pioneering discovery of reversible RNA methylation and its role in gene expression. Awarded by the Israeli-based Wolf Foundation, the annual prize honors the greatest achievements in the fields of agriculture, chemistry, mathematics, physics, medicine and the arts. The award was established in 1978 and carries a $100,000 prize. Click HERE for more information.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

The 2^nd MPS world summit is less than 6 months away. June 26 - June 30, 2023. Check the program, keynote speakers, venue and social events. For more information click HERE.

2023 dkNET SUMMER OF DATA STUDENT PROGRAM 

The 2023 dkNET Summer of Data Student Program provides students an opportunity to utilize the dkNET tools and resources in a research project. Don't miss this opportunity to refine practices in rigor and reproducibility. Students will learn the basics of good data management by following the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles!

• 6 week program, June 12 to July 21, 2023
• Week 1: Online bootcamp (2 hrs/day)
• Week 2-6: Weekly conference call & discussion (2 hrs/week)
• Complete a brief end of program report and a survey
• Students from current high school to graduate education who are currently working in a research lab or who will work in a research lab during summer 2023 may apply
• No programming skills or bioinformatics background are required
• $500 scholarship award opportunity
• Application due April 24, 2023
• Please note that only domestic students that are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States are eligible to apply to the program. 

Research projects should be in the areas of the NIDDK including diabetes, obesity, nutrition, digestive, kidney, liver, urologic, endocrine, metabolic, bone, and blood diseases. The program is designed for both bench and bioinformatics scientists. Preference will be given to those projects that would most benefit from the types of services offered by dkNET, e.g., projects that involve antibodies, genetically modified organisms, and ‘omics’ data. For more information, please click HERE.

UPCOMING WEBINAR

dkNET is an information hub for the DK community, providing regular updates, webinars and new tools and services to support your research, including funding opportunities available, and to help researchers navigate and comply with new regulations and mandates on resource authentication and data sharing. dkNET will be hosting the Webinar: "Single Molecule Spatial Transcriptomics: interpreting the spatial expression of RNAs from FISH images." Presented by: Jing Liu, PhD. Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Indiana University-Perdue University Indianapolis. This webinar will be held on Friday, April 21, 2023 from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm PST. Click HERE for more information. 

SenNet CUSP OUTREACH EFFORT

SenNet Summer Program

SenNet aims to comprehensively identify and characterize the differences in senescent cells across the body and lifespan, and to ultimately provide publicly accessible atlases of senescent cells in humans and mice as well as innovative tools and technologies for single cell analysis. The SenNet Consortium Underrepresented Student Program (CUSP) is a paid, summer research experience for undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds (see NIH criteria) to be placed in SenNet labs across the country. The internship will provide an opportunity for students to build connections, gain scientific skills, and conduct research in single cell biology. Deadline has been extended to March 31, 2023. Learn more HERE.

NOT-OD-23-070: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplements to Support the Exploration of Cloud in NIH-supported Research

• Application due date:  April 11, 2023 
• Foreign applications are not eligible

PAR-20-140: Catalytic Tool and Technology Development in Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• Application due date: May 7, 2023
• Foreign applications are eligible

NOT-OD-23-073: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplements to Enhance Software Tools for Open Science

• Application due date:  May 9, 2023 
• Foreign applications are not eligible

NOT-OD-23-082: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplements to Support Collaborations to Improve the AI/ML-Readiness

of NIH-Supported Data

• Application due date:  May 16, 2023 
• Foreign applications are not eligible

LEADERSHIP/FACULTY

Assistant Professor

The Department of Biology at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor. Competitive salary and start-up funds are available. A Ph.D. and postdoctoral experience are required. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to initiate a research program that can attract external funding to sustain it, dedication to effective student mentoring and the ability to teach courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Candidates able to teach courses in microbiology, biochemistry and neuroscience are particularly welcome. Research strengths in the department span a range of topics in cellular, molecular, and organismal biology. Applicants for the position should provide a brief statement of research interests, CV and the names of three references to Dr. Mastracci.

Sr. Scientist

The Islet Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Biology group is looking for an in vitro biologist with training in human iPSC culture. This position will play a key role in establishing a new lab focused on developing the next generation of islet cell therapies and application of iPSC-derived platforms to novel target discovery and validation. Qualified individuals will have experience with human iPSC culture, gene editing, molecular biology and assay development, as well as broad experience in pancreas and islet biology. Applicants for the position should provide a brief statement of research interests, CV and the names of three references to Dr. Gopika Nair.

Assistant or Associate Professor

The Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes (BDC) at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is searching for an Assistant or Associate Professor. The person holding this position will develop and direct an independent, externally funded research program related to the development and/or investigation of the molecular and/or cellular mechanisms operative in human stem cell models related to understanding the etiology of Type 1 Diabetes or developing human stem cell derived therapies. This individual will be responsible for the daily management, supervision, training and evaluation of personnel (such as graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and professional research assistants) whose positions are funded by research grants on which s/he is the principal investigator. For more information and official job posting, please contact Dr. Lori Sussel.

Junior or Assistant Specialist

The Parent lab at the UCSF Diabetes Center is seeking applicants for a full-time Specialist position at the Junior or Assistant level. Our research is focused on understanding changes in immune tolerance that lead to autoimmune destruction of pancreatic insulin-producing beta cells in type 1 diabetes (T1D). We are combining directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into cell types relevant to T1D with genome engineering approaches to model the human disease. We are also developing strategies to produce immune evasive stem cell-derived pancreatic beta cells to accelerate clinical translation of cell therapies to treat diabetes. Specialist appointed at the Junior level must possess (or in process of obtaining) a BA/BS degree in biological or biochemical sciences (or a related field); Specialist appointed at the Assistant level must possess (or in process of obtaining) a MA/MS degree in biological or biochemical sciences (or a related field). Applicant’s materials must list (pending) qualifications upon submission. Applicants must have obtained the degree requirement for the Specialist level by the time of hire. For more information and official job posting, please contact

Dr. Audrey Parent.

iPS Core Manager

A iPS Core Manager position in available at the Kulkarni Lab at Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical Center. The Core Manager will set up the infrastructure, equipment and supervision of the functionality of generating human iPS cells from patient samples in the long-term goal of generating insulin-secreting beta-like cells for testing in ex vivo and in vitro studies. This role will primarily be responsible for supervising the laboratory as well as having the expertise to undertake hands-on work if necessary, to insure timely progress of the projects. Applicants for the position should provide a brief statement of research interests, CV and the names of three references to Dr. Rohit Kulkarni. 

Postdoctoral Position

One postdoctoral fellow position is available at the ULB Center for Diabetes Research, Brussels, Belgium. We are looking for a highly motivated researcher to join the lab of Dr. Decio Eizirik. This lab aims to clarify the mechanisms of pancreatic beta cell dysfunction and death in type 1 diabetes mellitus, with focus on endoplasmic reticulum stress, alternative splicing and other mechanisms that may contribute to beta cell death and generation of neoantigens. Interested individuals are encouraged to provide a brief letter stating their accomplishments and interest in the lab’s research, curriculum vitae, and a list of three references to Dr. Decio Eizirik.

Postdoctoral Position

The laboratory of Dr. Xuelin Lou at the Medical College of Wisconsin is seeking a highly motivated and creative Postdoctoral Fellow to lead exciting research projects on membrane trafficking in islet β cells.  The ideal candidate will have a Ph.D. in Biology (or a related field) and quality publications. Experience in islet biology, or expertise in relevant research methods is highly desirable. Please send your cover letter, curriculum vitae, and the name/contact of three references to Dr. Xuelin Lou.

Postdoctoral Position

The Khosravi Immunoengineering Lab in the Department of Immunology at the Mayo Clinic Arizona is seeking two Postdoc Research Fellows in the areas of autoimmunity and transplantation. The Immunoengineering Lab research focuses on developing and applying novel ways of inducing immune tolerance using integrated approaches that combine laboratory, clinical, and computational methods. The engineering of immune cells is an integral part of these novel methods. The focuses of current research projects: 1) to develop chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) Tregs with enhanced stability and functionality for inducing immune tolerance in transplantation and xenotransplantation; 2) to study Tregs in autoimmune diseases and apply engineering strategies to develop autologous Treg therapies for these patients. Please contact Dr. Mohsen Khosravi Maharlooei for more information.

Postdoctoral Position

The Kravets Lab – “Pancreatic Islet Physics and Physiology” lab at the Department of Bioengineering and Department of Pediatrics of the University of California San Diego - is looking for a creative and highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellow to lead experimental and computational research projects. The successful candidate will have a PhD in Bioengineering, Biology, Biophysics, Mathematics, or related fields. Desired (but not required) skills:  experience in animal work (mouse or zebrafish) and tissue culture, willingness to perform animal surgical procedures, MATLAB, C (or other languages), signal analysis. Interested applicants please send a cover letter and curriculum vitae, including the names of

three references, to Dr. Vira Kravets.

Postdoctoral Position

The Alvarez laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine seeks a creative, collaborative and highly independent postdoctoral fellow to lead new research projects. Our laboratory asks how circadian & metabolic rhythms impact islet cell maturity, aiming to build mature stem cell-derived organoids as human models of islet development & physiology and as diabetes cell therapy. We are unraveling genetic, chromatin, and translation circuits that govern islet maturity states in health and disease. Candidates must have quality first-author publications and a PhD in Biology, Bioengineering, or related fields. Computational/bioinformatics expertise is highly desirable. We embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion. Please send your CV, a brief statement of relevant research interests, and contact information for three references to Dr. Juan Alvarez. 

Postdoctoral Position

The University of Montreal, under the direction of Dr. Poitout, has a postdoctoral position available to decipher the mechanisms whereby very long-chain sphingolipids lead to reactive oxygen species production and cell-cycle activation in rodent and human beta-cells. Methodologies to be employed include rat and mouse islet isolations, adenoviral transduction of rodent and human islets, measurements of beta-cell proliferation by flow cytometry, assessment of hormone secretion in static incubations and perifusions, and islet transplantation studies. Interested applicants please send a cover letter and curriculum vitae, including the names of three references, to

Dr. Vincent Poitout.

Postdoctoral Position

The laboratory of Dr. Audrey Parent at the University of California, San Francisco is seeking postdoctoral fellows interested in developing immune evasion strategies for beta cell replacement therapy. Our research program is diverse, combining directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into pancreatic beta cells and thymic epithelial cells with genome engineering approaches to study autoimmunity in humanized models. Selected candidates will work in a collaborative and interdisciplinary team and will be encouraged to develop their own research interests. Candidates must have a PhD in biology, immunology, or a related field. Applicants for the position should send a CV, a brief statement of their research interests, and contact information for three references to Dr. Audrey Parent.