Summary

Research Assistant II position who will be performing scientific research in the area of breast cancer in Dr. Xi Chen's Lab. Dr. Chen's  laboratory studies the function and mechanism of Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) protein quality control machinery in tumor microenvironment, therapy resistance and stem cell niche. The candidate chosen to fill this position  will work with postdocs and senior Faculty members to perform all experiments to achieve the goal of this project.  They will oversee this research project and relay their findings  to Dr. Chen as the principal PI. The results of  the research  and their findings  will result in additional funding and findings of the needed research in the area of understanding breast cancer.

The  specifics of this research target is to study  the function and mechanism of Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) protein quality control machinery in cancer progression, metastasis and therapy resistance, with special focus on cancer immunotherapy.  To be able to perform this research the RA II will assist in research experiments that will collect data, analysis results and help put together figures to summarize research findings to further the research progress in this field.

Job Duties

• Characterization of molecular and pathological alterations of breast and lung cancers in response to various endoplasmic reticulum stress modulation. 
• Investigation of lymphoid and myeloid cell populations and their functional alterations in response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy. 
• Determine the molecular mechanism underlying the proteostasis reprogramming in therapy resistance cancers and their tumor microenvironment. 
• Conducts detailed literature searches using AI and summarizes findings related to myeloid cell populations, gives presentations to both PI and the lab on recommendations of future experiments.
• Will assign and train less experienced staff on investigating Endoplasmic Reticulum stress in breast cancer.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a Basic Science or a related field. 
• Three years of relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• A research background in the specific area in cancer progression, metastasis and therapy resistance, with special focus on cancer immunotherapy.