Tumor Immunology Postdoctoral Research Fellow

A Research Associate position is available in Dr. Li Lily Wang’s laboratory, in the department of Translational Hematology Oncology Research (THOR), https://www.lerner.ccf.org/thor/wang/ in the Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH. The Wang laboratory is engaging in cross-disciplinary studies by collaborating with basic and clinical researchers from LRI /CCF and the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, affiliated with Case Western Reserve University.

Immune-checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies have revolutionized the field of Cancer Immunotherapy. However, the low response rate in a majority of patients indicates the urgent need to identify and target additional checkpoint regulators. The Wang laboratory is among the first groups to demonstrate that the immune-checkpoint protein “V domain I mmunoglobulin S uppressor of T cell A ctivation” (VISTA) is a promising target for cancer immunotherapy (1 – 6). Current projects are multi-disciplinary and involve elucidating the epigenetic and metabolic regulations by novel inhibitory receptors on tumor-associated cytotoxic T cells, macrophages, and myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Additional projects include investigating the mechanisms of resistance following chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell-based therapies. These projects have a balanced basic and clinical research aspects and provide excellent training opportunities for translational researchers.

We seek talented and committed candidates with a recent PhD and with research training and experience in Biochemistry, Cell Biology, and Immunology to join our team. Interested candidates should submit CV, a statement of research interests in a cover letter, and three references to Dr. Li Lily Wang, wangl9@ccf.org .

References:

• Le Mercier I, Chen W, Lines JL, Day M, Li J, Sergent P, Noelle RJ, Wang L (2014) VISTA regulates the development of protective anti-tumor immunity. Cancer Research , 74:1933-1944. PMC4116689
• Wang L, Le Mercier I, Putra J, Chen W, Liu J, Schenk AD, Nowak EC, Suriawinata AA, Li J, Noelle RJ. (2014) Disruption of the immune-checkpoint VISTA gene imparts a proinflammatory phenotype with predisposition to the development of autoimmunity. PNAS. (41):14846-51 PMC4205642
• Liu J, Yuan Y, Chen W, Putra J, Suriawinata AA, Schenk AD, Miller H, Guleria I, Barth RJ, Huang YH, Wang L (2015) Immune-checkpoint proteins VISTA and PD-1 nonredundantly regulate murine T-cell responses. PNAS. 112(21):6682-7, PMC4450438
• Xu W, T? MH, Malarkannan S, Wang L(2018) Review: The structure, expression, and function of immune-checkpoint protein VISTA as a critical regulator of anti-tumor immunity, autoimmunity, and inflammation. Cellular & Molecular Immunology. 2018 May 15(5):438-446 PMC6068175
• Xu W, Dong J, Zheng Y, Zhou J, Yuan Y, Ta H, Miller H, Olson M, Rajasekaran K, Ernstoff M, Wang D, Malarkannan S, Wang L (2019) Immune checkpoint protein VISTA regulates antitumor immunity by controlling myeloid cell-mediated inflammation and immunosuppression. Cancer Immunology Research PubMed PMID:31340983; NIHMSID:NIHMS1535762