Postdoctoral Research Associate - Heinzen Lab

The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy (www.pharmacy.unc.edu) is one of five health science schools (Pharmacy, Nursing, Dentistry, Public Health, Medicine) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is one of the oldest health science academic programs at Chapel Hill. The School teaches approximately 600 PharmD students and 145 graduate students. The School has built a reputation for its continued pursuit of excellence, rigorous education and training programs, cutting-edge multidisciplinary research, progressive pharmacy practices, efficient business operations, and its outstanding faculty, staff, and students. The School was named the number one School of Pharmacy in the U.S. by the U.S. News and World Report. The School has experienced unprecedented growth and success and continues to strategically position itself for sustained impact, as articulated in the School's Strategic Plan (https://pharmacy.unc.edu/about/oe/strategic-plan/).

Our Vision is to be the global leader in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences. Our Mission is to prepare leaders and innovators to solve the world's most pressing health care challenges. We are Advancing Medicine for Life through innovation and collaboration in pharmacy practice, education, research, and public service.

The Heinzen laboratory in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, in collaboration with the Eshelman Institute for Innovation, in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is looking to immediately fill multiple postdoctoral fellowship positions to study molecular mechanisms across multiple types of genetic epilepsies to identify convergent disease mechanisms and drug targets.

The successful candidates will be part of a highly interdisciplinary environment to develop induced pluripotent stem cell derived neuronal models of genetic epilepsies and apply cutting-edge technologies including electrophysiology, single-cell RNAseq, chromatin conformation capture technique, optogenetics, genetic encoded biosensors of neurotransmission, and live cell imaging, to study cellular and molecular signatures associated genetic epilepsies. Well-defined cellular and molecular signatures will be fed into the drug discovery pipeline and/or subjected to CRISPR-screens to identify druggable genetic modifiers as part of the Drug Discovery Initiative led by the Eshelman Institute of Innovation.

The ultimate goal is for postdoctoral fellows to develop specialized skill sets to drive independent research programs that can launch independent research careers

The position requires a Ph.D. in a biological sciences discipline (e.g., neuroscience, molecular biology, pharmacology, cell biology, molecular genetics), and a publication record demonstrating research productivity. Excellent communication, organization, writing, data analysis skills, and willingness to be part of collaborative team science skills are also essential.

Excellent communication, organization, writing, and willingness to be part of collaborative team science skills are also essential.

The projects will involve a significant amount of laboratory bench work. Research experience with human induced pluripotent stem cell models preferred but not required.

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If you experience any problems accessing the system or have questions about the application process, please contact the University's Equal Employment Opportunity office at (919)-962-1091 or send an email to equalopportunity@unc.edu.

Please note: The Equal Employment Opportunity office will not be able to provide specific updates regarding position or application status.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, race, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a protected veteran.