Summary

Baylor College of Medicine is located in the vibrant Texas Medical Center, which is home to multiple cutting-edge biomedical research institutions and provides a rich and stimulating research environment. The Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology is a multidisciplinary and highly collaborative unit with strong emphasis on basic and translational research. The successful postdoctoral candidate will benefit from collaborations with leading experts in microbial pathogenesis with a focus on enteric virus-host-microbiome interactions and be part of a group that nurtures a team science approach to enteric infectious diseases.

A postdoctoral position on enteric viruses and host-microbiome interactions is available on a collaborative project involving the Estes, Atmar and Ramani laboratories in the Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology. This position will be supported through NIH funded Human Biomimetics for Mucosal Infections Cooperative Research Center and Genomic Centers for Infectious Diseases. The Postdoc will primarily analyze microbiome and virome datasets from clinical samples and utilize next generation organoid cultures to functionally assess how commensal bacteria and viruses influence enteric pathogen infections. Our research group pioneered use of human organoid cultures for discovering mechanisms that regulate host-virus interactions and pathogenesis of human enteric virus. New studies are building more complex co-cultures by adding the microbiome and will employ a broad array of techniques including bacteriology, virology, and molecular biology tools to discover on a mechanistic level how microbiome/host interactions influence replication and pathogenesis of clinically relevant human enteric viruses. Our overall goals are to identify new methods to treat and prevent infections.  The position requires a person who has a strong background in computational tools, wet lab experience in bacteriology and mammalian tissue culture and be a team player in a highly creative and productive environment.

Job Duties

• Designs, directs and conducts specialized and advanced research experiments including computational analysis and mechanistic laboratory studies.
• Works independently and in conjunction with others who are part of the collaborative research teams. 
• Evaluates and analyzes data.
• Establishes new research protocols and procedures.
• Summarizes research findings in lab meetings and local and NIH-sponsored meetings. 
• Acquires exceptional communication skills, both verbal and written. 
• Presents research findings at national meetings. 
• Publish results in research journals.
• May be involved in training students and other team members.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education Required: MD or Ph.D. in Basic Science, Health Science, or a related field.
• Experience Required: None Required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. or MD, Ph.D in biomedical sciences.
• Strong background in computational  microbiome studies.
• Strong organization skills and highly motivated.
• Previous experience with NexGen data and 'omics' analyses are strongly desired. 
• Previous wet lab experience in bacteriology and mammalian cell culture is preferred