Postdoc Positions in Cancer Genomics, Epigenetics, Metabolism, and Bioinformatics 

Multiple postdoctoral positions are available in the lab of Dr. Jian Xu at Children’s Research Institute (CRI), UT Southwestern Medical Center to study the gene regulatory processes that control stem cell development and cancers. We employ genomics, epigenetics, genome editing, metabolomics, and mouse genetics to define disease-associated epigenetic and genetic programs that control normal stem cell development, and how these processes go awry in cancer progression. 

Our laboratory is equipped with cutting-edge genomics, molecular biology and bioinformatics platforms, and has access to many shared facilities including an in-house illumina sequencer, 10xGenomics singlecell technologies, metabolomics, transgenic mouse core, imaging, and flow cytometry. Our team brings together enthusiastic scientists with diverse backgrounds, and provides a wide range of perspectives in a multi-disciplinary and collaborative team setting. Since we established the laboratory in 2014, our team has published a series of impactful papers, which include: 

 Development of a CRISPR-based CAPTURE approach for in situ analysis of chromatin interactions (Cell 170:1028, 2017) 

 Post-transcriptional regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolism during erythropoiesis (Nature Cell Biology 19:626, 2017) 

 Reported that loss of EZH2 reprograms branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism to drive leukemic transformation (Cancer Discovery 9:1228, 2019) 

 Reported an integrative pipeline to identify pathogenic non-coding variants connecting enhancer dysregulation with nuclear receptor signaling in blood cancers (Cancer Discovery 10:724, 2020) 

 Discovered that the epigenetic silencing of LINE-1 retrotransposons is a selective dependency of myeloid leukemia (Nature Genetics 53:672, 2021) 

Some potential research projects: 

 The crosstalk between epigenetic gene regulation and metabolism in development and cancer 

 Engineering of CRISPR-based epigenomic editing and chromatin CAPTURE technologies for programmable gene regulation 

 Enhancer function and mechanisms in stem cells and cancers 

 The function and regulation of genomic transposable elements in development and cancer 

 Single-cell lineage tracing of stem cell differentiation and cancer evolution 

Candidates must hold a Ph.D. and/or M.D. degree with a strong background in molecular biology, cancer biology, mouse genetics, bioinformatics and/or a related field. The ideal candidate will exhibit independence, flexibility and creativity with a record of scientific productivity. Previous experience in epigenetics, genomics, metabolism, computational biology, mouse genetics, and/or hematologyoncology is strongly preferred. 

Interested individuals should send a CV, a short summary of research interest and experience, and a list of three references to: 

Jian Xu, Ph.D. 

Associate Professor 

Children’s Research Institute 

CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research UT Southwestern Medical Center 

Email: Jian.Xu@UTSouthwestern.edu