Post-Doctoral Fellow, Research - Drs. Richard Lieber and Ishan Roy

Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is the global leader in physical medicine and rehabilitation for adults and children with the most severe, complex conditions. By joining our team, you’ll be part of our life-changing mission and vision. You’ll contribute to an innovative, multifaceted culture that is second to none — one that embraces collaboration, excellence, discovery and compassion. You’ll play a role in something that’s never been done before as we integrate science and clinical care to help patients achieve better, faster outcomes — as we Advance Human Ability, together.

Job Description Summary

The Post-Doctoral Fellow, Research will assist in the design, development, execution, and implementation of scientific research and/or development in collaboration with Dr. Ishan Roy and Dr. Richard Lieber.

The fellow will lead interdisciplinary, translational research bridging muscle mechanics and multi-omics to uncover mechanisms of muscle dysfunction in chronic diseases (such as cancer) and inform precision rehabilitation strategies.

The Post-Doctoral Fellow, Research will consistently demonstrate support of the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab statement of Vision, Mission and Core Values by striving for excellence, contributing to the team efforts and showing respect and compassion for patients and their families, fellow employees, and all others with whom there is contact at or in the interest of the institute.

The Post-Doctoral Fellow, Research will demonstrate Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Core Attributes: Communication, Accountability, Flexibility/Adaptability, Judgment/Problem Solving, Customer Service and Core Values (Hope, Compassion, Discovery, Collaboration, and Commitment to Excellence) while fulfilling job duties.

Job Description

The Post-Doctoral Fellow, Research:

• Ensures the design, development, execution and implementation of scientific research and/or development in collaboration with a research team.
• Investigates the feasibility of applying a wide variety of scientific principles and theories to potential inventions and products.
• Maintains substantial knowledge of state-of-the-art principles and theories.
• Assists with development of collaborative projects within and outside the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and test ideas for new projects development.
• Applies for fellowships and grants for external lab funding and career development.
• Participates weekly lab meetings, journal clubs and seminars.
• Builds and maintains a well-organized and accountable journal of own laboratory protocols, experiments, results and analyses.
• Develops, submits and publishes results of research projects scientific journals and presents data to public conferences/seminars when needed.
• Lead and execute interdisciplinary research integrating skeletal muscle mechanics with multi-omics datasets (e.g., transcriptomics, metabolomics, proteomics) in both human and preclinical models
• Design and conduct experiments assessing active and passive muscle mechanical properties and link these to molecular and cellular phenotypes
• Perform and/or oversee small animal studies (e.g., murine cancer/cachexia models), including functional, physiological, and tissue-based endpoints
• Coordinate and integrate human biospecimen studies (e.g., muscle biopsies) with parallel preclinical models to enable translational discovery
• Apply quantitative and computational approaches to integrate multi-modal datasets (mechanics, histology, omics, and functional outcomes)
• Mentor and supervise junior laboratory staff, students, and research assistants, including training in experimental techniques and data analysis
• Collaborate across laboratories to advance a joint research program in cancer cachexia and muscle dysfunction
• Contribute to development of new experimental platforms bridging mechanobiology, rehabilitation science, and systems biology
• Performs all other duties that may be assigned in the best interest of the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.

Reporting Relationships:

• Reports directly to the assigned Principal Investigator

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required:

• Requires the academic knowledge associated with a doctorate degree
• Typically, less than 4 years of postdoctoral training.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
• General knowledge or interest in rehabilitation and specific knowledge in biomedical or clinical principles.
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills needed to participate as a creative member of a growing research team.
• Ability to exchange ideas and to work closely with clinicians, patients and professional organizations.
• Willingness to network within the Institute and to independently strengthen/develop new external collaborations.
• Ability to timely plan and to coordinate project completions.
• Prior experience or strong interest in skeletal muscle biology, particularly in the context of muscle wasting, cachexia, or chronic disease
• Experience with or willingness to learn muscle mechanics techniques (e.g., single fiber, bundle testing, passive/active force measurements)
• Background in multi-omics approaches and data interpretation (RNA-seq, metabolomics, proteomics, or related high-dimensional datasets)
• Experience with or willingness to perform animal research, including surgical or physiological assessments
• Demonstrated interest in translational research bridging human and animal models
• Interest in rehabilitation science, exercise physiology, or muscle function as it relates to disease
• Strong analytical and computational skills for integration of complex biological datasets (experience with R, Python, or similar tools preferred)
• Demonstrated ability to work in highly collaborative, cross-disciplinary environments
• Commitment to pursuing career development funding (e.g., NIH K awards, foundation grants)
• Clear interest in a long-term academic career in biomedical research and/or physician-scientist pathway
• Familiarity with computational biology, bioinformatics pipelines, or machine learning approaches

Working Conditions:

• Normal office environment with little or no exposure to dust or extreme temperature.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.

Pay and Benefits*:

Pay Range:

$47,300.00 - $78,700.00

Benefits:

Shirley Ryan AbilityLab offers a comprehensive benefits program that is competitive with our industry peers in our geographic locations: https://www.sralab.org/benefits

*Benefits and benefits’ eligibility can vary by position. Actual compensation will be determined by equity and qualifications of the role.

Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All applicants will be afforded equal employment opportunity without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin or ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military status, order of protection status, unfavorable discharge from military service, or any other characteristics protected by law.

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Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is an Affirmative Action Employer as required by law.