[AKN Admin]

Employer: Department of Neurology, Institute for Cell Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Website:https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/institute_cell_engineering/research_programs/neuroregeneration/index.html
Location: Baltimore, MD21205, USA
Type: Postdoctoral Fellow

Position Overview: A postdoctoral fellow position is immediately available in the laboratory of Dr. Hanseok Ko in the NeuroRegeneration and Stem Cell Programs, Institute for Cell Engineering, Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. There are ample opportunities to interact and collaborate with other scientist at NeuroICE (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/institute_cell_engineering/) and the School of Medicine.

Lab introduction: The overarching goal of our scientific work has been to define key molecular pathways in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases including PD, DLB/PDD, AD, and to identify novel targets for therapeutic development. Our lab is focused on pathways that are critical for understanding the neurodegenerative process as follows:
1. Defining the role and molecular characteristics of neuroinflammation in PD, DLB/PDD, and AD.
2. Deciphering the role of the disease-causing/risk genes in the pathogenesis in PD, DLB/PDD, and AD.
3. Mechanism that underlies gut to brain transmission of pathological α-synuclein and development of the gut-brain α-synuclein transmission mouse model.
4. The downstream neurotoxic effects of aggregated α-synuclein proteins with emphasis on oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and the autophagic / lysosomal degradation system.
5. Mechanisms that initiate and govern the conformational conversion of soluble α-synuclein proteins into insoluble amyloid fibrils.

Recent articles related with the current projects:

1. Yun SP, Kam TI, Panicker N, Kim SM, Oh Y, Park JS, Kwon SH, Park YJ, Karuppagounder SS, Park H, Kim S, Oh N, Kim N, Lee S, Brahmachari S, Mao X, Lee JH, Kumar M, An D, Kang S, Lee Y, Lee KC, Na DH, Kim DH, Lee SH, Roschke VV, Liddelow SA, Mari Z, Barres BA, Dawson VL, Lee S*, Dawson TM* and Ko HS*. Block of A1 astrocyte conversion by microglia is neuroprotective in models of Parkinson’s disease. Nat Med. 2018 Jul;24(7):931-938. PMID: 29892066.
2. Kim D, Yoo JM, Hwang H, Lee J, Lee SH, Yun SP, Park MJ, Lee M, Choi S, Kwon SH, Lee S, Kwon SH, Kim S, Park YJ, Kinoshita M, Lee YH, Shin S, Paik SR, Lee SJ, Lee S, Hong BH, Ko HS. Graphene quantum dots prevent α-synucleinopathy in Parkinson’s disease. Nat Nanotechnol. 2018, 13(9):812-818. PMID: 29988049
3. Kim S, Kwon SH, Kam TI, Panicker N, Karuppagounder SS, Lee S, Lee JH, Kim WR, Kook M, Foss CA, Shen C, Lee H, Kulkarni S, Pasricha PJ, Lee G, Pomper MG, Dawson VL, Dawson TM, Ko HS. Transneuronal Propagation of Pathologic α-Synuclein from the Gut to the Brain Models Parkinson’s Disease. Neuron. 2019,103(4):627-641.e7. PMID: 31255487
4. Mao X, Ou MT, Karuppagounder SS, Kam TI, Yin X, Xiong Y, Ge P, Umanah GE, Brahmachari S, Shin JH, Kang HC, Zhang J, Xu J, Chen R, Park H, Andrabi SA, Kang SU, Gonçalves RA, Liang Y, Zhang S, Qi C, Lam S, Keiler JA, Tyson J, Kim D, Panicker N, Yun SP, Workman CJ, Vignali DA, Dawson VL*, Ko HS*, Dawson TM*. Pathological α-synuclein transmission initiated by binding lymphocyte-activation gene 3. Science. 2016, 353(6307):aah3374. PMID: 27708076. *Co-Corresponding Author.

Other publications:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=han+seok+ko&sort=date

Position Requirements:
1. Highly motivated individuals with a PhD or MD/PhD degree in the field of protein biochemistry, molecular and cell biology and a solid background in neuroscience or neuroimmunology.
2. Work experiences with transgenic or knock-out/knock-in mouse models relevant to neurological disorders and gene editing, viral vectors, optogenetics, stereotaxic surgery, RNAseq, single-cell seq, and microscopy are preferred.
3. Less than one or two years of postdoctoral training are preferred.

Salary:
Based on NIH guidelines.
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-21-049.html

Application Process:
Please email the following items to Dr. Hanseok Ko at hko3@jhmi.edu
1. CV including detail technical expertise and PubMed links.
2. Cover letter including brief statement of achievements and research interests,
3. Contact information for three references (Reference letters are not required for an initial inquiry).