About City of Hope

City of Hope, an innovative biomedical research, treatment and educational institution with over 6,000 employees, is dedicated to the prevention and cure of cancer and other life-threatening diseases and guided by a compassionate, patient-centered philosophy.

Founded in 1913 and headquartered in Duarte, California, City of Hope is a remarkable non-profit institution, where compassion and advanced care go hand-in-hand with excellence in clinical and scientific research.  City of Hope is a National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers that develops and institutes standards of care for cancer treatment.

Position Summary

The Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope is looking for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join Dr. Kirstin Zettlitz’s laboratory in the Department of Immunology and Theranostics, Art Riggs Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute.

Dr. Zettlitz’s lab focuses on antibody-based molecular imaging (optical and immunoPET imaging) to improve and guide the development and clinical translation of targeted therapies.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will be working in a highly collaborative group on a research project on engineered antibody fragments for molecular imaging (immunoPET and optical imaging) of cancer and/or immune cell subsets.

This project offers unique multidisciplinary training in antibody engineering (design, production, purification and conjugation), molecular cancer biology, immunology, molecular imaging (immunoPET/CT, near-infrared fluorescence imaging) and translational research.

Our research projects are supported by outstanding core facilities including Analytical Cytometry, Animal Resource Center, Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Pathology and the Small Animal Imaging Core (equipped with a PET/CT, 7T MRI/PET, and optical imaging instrumentation).

Postdocs are expected to be capable of working rigorously and independently to drive their projects to success. Communication skills (oral and written) are key, and the postdoctoral researcher is expected to present results at professional society conferences and prepare first-author papers each year. 

The Zettlitz laboratory and City of Hope provide strong support for scientific writing and presentations (abstracts, manuscripts, grant applications and other materials) and offer guidance and opportunities for mentoring (i.e. training graduate students), all in a rich research environment with expertise in antibody engineering, molecular imaging, immunology, and translational sciences for postdocs who want to pursuit a career in academia or industry.

Basic education, experience and skills required for consideration:

• Ph.D. or equivalent degree in Biology, Biochemistry or Chemistry and is expected to have a strong background in at least one of the following areas: antibody/protein engineering, molecular biology, cell biology, or immunology.
• Experience in molecular imaging, preclinical models of cancer and/or inflammatory diseases (handling of mice), pharmacokinetics or protein conjugation and radiolabeling is desired.

Additional Information:

• For more information on Dr. Kirstin Zettlitz’s research, please visit here.
• To protect the health of patients and staff and to comply with new State of California mandates, City of Hope staff are required to show proof of full vaccination by September 30, 2021.  Compliance is a condition of employment.  

City of Hope is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

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