Use of the Zebrafish as a Model to Study the Safety of Engineered Nanomaterials.

We are recruiting a Postdoctoral Researcher within the the University of California Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (UC CEIN), which was established to investigate the impacts of engineered nanomaterials on a range of cells, tissues and organisms in terrestrial, fresh water and sea water environments. Under the mentorship of Professor André Nel and with the co-mentorship of Professor Shuo Lin from the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at UCLA, the candidate will investigate the biological responses of zebrafish embryos, larvae and adults to the exposure of engineered nanomaterials and conduct mechanistic and genetic studies on nanomaterial injury pathways, with the goal of developing high throughput zebrafish screening analysis of the toxicological potential of nanomaterials. The research will include conducting in vivo studies of the zebrafish colony, as well as translating this work to the integrated activity of the Center.

The successful candidate will possess interdisciplinary skills and hands-on experience in working with nanomaterials, characterizing nanomaterials, conducting tissue culture assays, zebrafish maintenance and handling, making transgenic zebrafish colonies and performance of in vitro/in vivo rapid troughput screening (HTS) experiments. The Postdoctoral Researcher will also assist in planning of experiments, development of HTS assays, data reduction and analysis and manuscript/proposal preparation as part of this project.

Position is available for immediate occupancy for a 1 – 2 year appointment, contingent on background experience, performance and continued availability of funding. Candidate must have completed his/her PhD in a scientific field directly relevant to the project. Applicants who have already served 5 years as Postdoctoral Researchers at other institutions (all combined) are not eligible to apply. Please forward your Curriculum Vita and 3 references to David Avery, Chief Administrative Officer, UC CEIN (avery@ucla.edu).