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Job Title:

Department:

Postdoctoral Researcher - COPPER Laboratory

Department of Surgery | The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center | Columbus, Ohio

Position Summary

The COPPER Laboratory at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to join an DoD and NIH-funded research program investigating ischemia-reperfusion injury, inflammation, and cellular senescence in the context of organ transplantation and preservation. The COPPER Laboratory is co-directed by Sylvester M. Black, MD, PhD, Professor of Surgery, Surgical Director of the Liver Transplant Program and Bryan Whitson, MD, PhD, Professor of Surgery, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

The lab has developed several signature research platforms, including a murine and rat transplant models (heart, lung, liver, kidney), an operational small and large animal normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) model, and a precision-cut organ slice (Liver, Lung) platform. The Copper Laboratory also performs a number of molecular biology and immunologic techniques, including flow cytometry and other cell-based assays. The successful candidate will join a collaborative, multidisciplinary team spanning transplant surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, medicinal chemistry, molecular biology and chemical engineering, with the opportunity to contribute to translational research connecting bench discovery to clinical application.

This position is designed as a career-development role: alongside conducting mechanistic research, the postdoctoral researcher will receive structured mentorship in grant writing, laboratory leadership, scientific communication, and the pursuit of independent extramural funding.

Key Responsibilities

- Design, execute, and interpret experiments investigating ischemia-reperfusion injury, inflammation, and senescence mechanisms relevant to organ transplantation and preservation

- Develop hands-on experience with the development of proficiency in the lab's core research platforms (e.g. PCLS, in vitro and in vivo cell based assays, animal surgical models).

- Contribute substantively to the preparation of extramural grant proposals (e.g., R01, program project grants, U01, STTR/SBIR, DoD mechanisms) supporting the lab's research program

- With mentorship, prepare and pursue independent career-development funding (e.g., F32, K99/R00, or foundation awards).

- Assist in the day-to-day coordination and management of a multidisciplinary research team, including guidance of junior trainees and technical staff

- Prepare manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication and present research findings at national and international scientific meetings

- Apply computational and data-science approaches to multi-omics and biosensing datasets generated by the lab.

- Engage in collaborative, cross-institutional research connecting laboratory findings to clinical translation

- Maintain rigorous, reproducible research practices and adhere to regulatory and animal-welfare compliance standards (e.g., IACUC)

Required Qualifications

- PhD, MD, DVM, or equivalent doctoral degree in a relevant biomedical or life sciences field (e.g., physiology, immunology, cell biology, biomedical engineering, or related discipline)

- Demonstrated laboratory research experience, with strong experimental design and data analysis skills

- Excellent written and verbal scientific communication skills

- Ability to work effectively and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary research team

Preferred Qualifications

- Research experience related to transplantation, or ischemia-reperfusion injury, organ preservation, or inflammation/senescence biology.

- Experience with multi-omics data analysis, bioinformatics, or computational biology

- A record of peer-reviewed publications in relevant journals

- Prior experience contributing to extramural grant proposals

What the COPPER Laboratory Offers

- Access to established, signature research platforms not widely available elsewhere, including multiple small animal transplant models and prefusion models.

- Structured mentorship in grant writing, laboratory management, and career development toward research independence

- A collaborative environment spanning transplant surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, molecular biology, chemical engineering and medicinal chemistry.

- Engagement with an active, NIH-funded research portfolio and national scientific community (including opportunities tied to national study section and editorial involvement of the lab's leadership)

Additional Information:

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Thank you for your interest in positions at The Ohio State University and Wexner Medical Center. Once you have applied, the most updated information on the status of your application can be found by visiting the Candidate Home section of this site. Please view your submitted applications by logging in and reviewing your status. For answers to additional questions please review the frequently asked questions.

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