Postdoctoral Research Associate - Functional and System Metabolism

Postdoctoral positions are available in the lab of Dr. Jian Xu at Department of Pathology and Center of Excellence for Leukemia Studies (CELS) at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to study the metabolic processes that control stem cell development, blood disorders, and childhood cancers.

We employ high-throughput metabolomics, epigenomics, single-cell multiomics, (epi)genome editing, and preclinical models to define disease-associated metabolic and epigenetic programs that control stem cell development, and how these processes go awry in cancer progression.

Our lab is equipped with cutting-edge metabolomics, genomics, molecular biology, and bioinformatics platforms, including in-house LC-MS and GS-MS-based metabolomic platforms, illumina sequencer, 10xGenomics single-cell technologies, and flow cytometry. Our team brings together enthusiastic scientists with diverse backgrounds and provides a wide range of perspectives in a multi-disciplinary and collaborative team setting. Since we established the laboratory in 2014, our team has published a series of impactful papers, which include:

• Development of a CRISPR-based CAPTURE approach for in situ analysis of chromatin interactions (Cell 170:1028, 2017)

• Reported that loss of EZH2 reprograms branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism to drive leukemic transformation (Cancer Discovery 9:1228, 2019)

• Discovered that the epigenetic silencing of LINE-1 retrotransposons is a selective dependency of myeloid leukemia (Nature Genetics 53:672, 2021)

• Described novel mechanisms driving therapy resistance to FDA-approved therapies in myeloid leukemia (Cancer Discovery 13:170, 2023)

• Discovered a glutamine metabolic switch essential for normal and pathological erythropoiesis (Science 386:eadh9215, 2024)

Some potential research projects:

• Understand and target metabolic vulnerabilities in genetic blood disorders and therapy response

• Characterize metabolic dependencies and biomarkers in childhood cancers and therapy response

• Develop high-throughput multi-omic approaches for targeting metabolic liabilities of cancer stem cells

• Develop computational approaches for integrating metabolomics, transcriptomics, and genomics datasets across development and disease

Candidates must hold a Ph.D. and/or M.D. degree with a strong background in metabolism research, biochemistry, molecular biology, hematology/oncology, and/or a related field. The ideal candidate will exhibit independence, flexibility and creativity with a record of scientific productivity. Previous experience in metabolomics, computational biology, and/or hematology-oncology is strongly preferred.

Interested individuals should send a CV, a short summary of research interest and experience, and a list of three references to:

Jian Xu, Ph.D.

Member, St. Jude Faculty

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Email: [email protected]

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