Research Project
We are looking for highly motivated scientists with great communication skills, collaborative spirit and that love for science. The projects will mainly focus on genome stability but are open to novel and unexpected directions.
The maintenance of a normal complement of the genome is a requirement for the success of multicellular organisms. Aneuploidy refers to the presence of an abnormal (lower or higher than euploid) number of chromosomes or chromosome arms (segmental aneuploidy). Although detrimental at the organismal level, aneuploidy is extremely frequent (~90%) in human tumors (Beroukhim et al., Nature 2010).
We recently conducted a
combined analysis of
point mutation and copy
number data in primary
human tumor samples
and demonstrated that
the distribution and
potency of cancer driver genes on each chromosome or chromosome arm can predict the frequency of whole chromosome or chromosome arm aneuploidy across cancers (Davoli et al. Cell, 2013; Sack, Davoli et al., Cell 2018). This suggests that the recurrent patterns of aneuploidy in cancer act as driver events during tumorigenesis. Furthermore, through an analysis of genomics and transcriptomic data from primary human tumors, we recently identified a negative association between the level of cancer aneuploidy and the extent of tumor immune infiltrate, especially of cytotoxic T cells (Davoli et al. Science, 2017; William et al., PNAS 2021). For example, in oral cancer, chromosome 9p loss predicts immune-cold phenotypes and resistance to immunotherapy. Our ongoing research interest is to determine how cancer aneuploidy regulates the immune microenvironment, utilizing a combination of experimental and computational approaches.
What we offer
Postdoctoral and staff scientist positions are available for a wet-lab project, a dry-lab project or a combination of both. Applicants with a background in genetics/molecular biology and/or bioinformatics are encouraged to apply. The Postdoctoral Researcher or Staff Scientist will have the opportunity to receive training on the use of state-of-the-art cancer genetics approaches and genomics analyses of patients’ datasets.
Starting date: any time after February 2022.
Qualifications
• PhD in molecular biology, genetics or bioinformatics
• Strong research background in cell biology, cancer biology or genome instability
• Strong publication record
• Great interest and excitement for systems genetics and cancer
About the new Institute for Systems Genetics @ NYU School of Medicine
The Institute for Systems Genetics (ISG) at NYU School of Medicine was established in January 2014 by Jef Boeke, PhD, with the mission of performing innovative science in the fields of systems biology and genetics/genomics. We work closely with genomics and proteomics, and we partner with academic, research, and industry organizations, including the New York Genome Center in Manhattan.
Contact
Dr. Teresa Davoli; Teresa.Davoli@nyumc.org