2025-08-13
University of Pittsburgh
Other
/yr
employee
contract
Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania
15260
United States
Post Doctoral Associate
Med-Pharmacology and Chemical Biology - Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh - (25004089)
The University of Pittsburgh Liver MPS Team (part of the Organ Pathobiology and Therapeutics Institute, OPTIn) is seeking a Postdoctoral Fellow to support ongoing translational research at the interface of bioengineering, omics-driven systems biology, and precision medicine. This position will contribute to NIH-funded projects integrating human biomimetic liver microphysiological systems (MPS) with multi-omics analysis and quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) to predict and stratify patient cohorts in complex heterogeneous diseases, predict drug response, identify biomarkers, and accelerate the discovery of targeted therapies for liver-related diseases, including MASLD/MASH, type 2 diabetes, and biologics-induced liver injury.
The successful candidate will work closely with a highly interdisciplinary team of cell biologists, MPS engineers, computational modelers, and clinician-scientists to advance a precision medicine platform that incorporates patient-derived iPSCs, genotypic stratification, and preclinical drug evaluation in MPS.
Key Responsibilities
• Integrate multi-omics datasets (e.g., genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics) to elucidate disease mechanisms, identify biomarkers, and stratify drug responses across patient genotypes.
• Apply image-based and functional assays (e.g., high-content imaging, biochemical readouts) to quantify cellular phenotypes, disease progression, and evaluate candidate therapeutics.
• Contribute to the development of a preclinical trial-on-chip platform using genotyped patient-derived cells for testing cohort-specific treatment strategies and multi-omics data capture.
• Collaborate on data integration and modeling workflows (including computational pipelines and data analytics platforms), to translate experimental findings into clinically actionable therapeutic strategies.
• Design and perform MPS-based experiments using multiple 3D biomimetic liver MPS platforms constructed with both patient primary cells and/or patient-specific, iPSC-derived hepatic cells, including hepatocytes, LSECs, hepatic stellate cells, Kupffer cells, immune cells, and cholangiocytes.
Preferred Qualifications
• Ph.D. in systems biology, cell biology, pharmacology, biomedical engineering, or a related field.
• Experience in transcriptomic/genomic/metabolomic data analysis (e.g., RNAseq, pathway analysis, drug prediction, genotype calling).
• Strong foundation in cell-based experimentation and liver physiology; prior experience with 3D culture or liver MPS models is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with precision medicine strategies.
• Hands-on skills in molecular and cellular assays, fluorescence imaging, biochemical assays, and co-culture systems.
PI277270171
