The Laboratory
A postdoctoral position in immunology is available in the laboratory of Dr. Magdalena Gorska (http://www.njhealth.org/gorska-lab) at National Jewish Health (NJH) in Denver, Colorado. The lab studies non-genetic inheritance of allergic diseases. 

It is increasingly recognized that non-DNA sequence-based information can be inherited across several generations in organisms ranging from yeast to plants to humans. This information emerges as a result of parental interactions with an environment or due to parental disease. The non-genetic inheritance is postulated to contribute to the development of allergies and asthma. In epidemiological studies, childhood asthma positively associates with maternal stress and maternal exposures to air pollutants, and negatively, with maternal exposure to microorganisms and microbial products present in the farming environment.  Mechanisms how maternal environment and health status affect predisposition to asthma in offspring are unclear. Dr. Gorska’s lab is focused on addressing these knowledge gaps.

The goals of the lab are to define maternal information that is gained and transmitted to offspring or lost and not transferred to offspring, elucidate routes of information transfer (placenta, breast milk, gametes), delineate offspring cells and pathways that are programmed by this information, and study how these cells and pathways contribute to the development of asthma. The lab has particular interest in cells and pathways of the immune system. The translational goals are to identify early-life biomarkers of predisposition to asthma in humans and define molecular targets for development of preventive drugs. 

To accomplish these goals, the lab uses mouse models, human cord blood samples, blood samples from young children with asthma, high-parameter flow cytometry, bulk and single-cell RNA-sequencing, ATAC-sequencing, and many other state-of-the-art methods and techniques in immunology, developmental biology and biochemistry. 

The Institute
NJH is the leading respiratory hospital in the US and a premier academic center with renowned scientific expertise in immunology, allergy and pulmonary diseases. The institute is responsible for many seminal scientific advances including the discovery of IgE, characterization of the T cell receptor (TCR) and its interaction with MHC molecules, discovery of superantigens and the immunological synapse, delineation of molecular mechanisms underlying B cell anergy as well as mechanisms and consequences of apoptotic cell removal by phagocytes.   

Applicant Qualifications
MD or PhD, background in immunology, developmental biology, cell and molecular biology or related fields. 

To Apply for This Position
Email your CV, a brief summary of previous research experience and contact information for 3 references to Dr. Gorska at gorskam@njhealth.org.