Postdoctoral Fellow - RNA Metabolism, Arginine Methylation, and Cancer Immunology

Join the forefront of groundbreaking research at City of Hope where we're changing lives and making a real difference in the fight against cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening illnesses. Our dedicated and compassionate faculty and staff are driven by a common mission: Contribute to innovative approaches in predicting, preventing, and curing diseases, shaping the future of medicine through cutting-edge research.

The laboratory of Dr. Yanzhong Yang in the Department of Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics at the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellow to investigate how protein arginine methylation regulates RNA metabolism and gene expression in cancer and immune cells. The Yang laboratory focuses on understanding how protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) and methylarginine reader proteins control key RNA processing events, including pre-mRNA splicing, alternative polyadenylation, and RNA modification, and how disruption of these pathways contributes to cancer development and antitumor immunity.

Research projects integrate mechanistic studies in RNA biology with genetically engineered mouse models, functional genomics, and cancer immunology. Ongoing projects investigate the role of arginine methylation in spliceosome function, RNA processing factor regulation, tumor evolution, immune-cell differentiation, and therapeutic responses. The successful candidate will have opportunities to develop independent research directions at the interface of RNA biology, epigenetics, immunology, and cancer biology.

As a successful candidate you will:

• Investigate how PRMTs and methylarginine reader proteins regulate pre-mRNA splicing and alternative RNA processing in normal and malignant cells.

• Functionally characterize RNA-binding proteins and spliceosomal components in cancer and immune cells.

• Develop and analyze genetically engineered mouse models of cancer and immune dysfunction.

• Integrate transcriptomic, single-cell genomic, epigenomic, and proteomic data to uncover novel therapeutic vulnerabilities.

Your qualifications should include:

• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, RNA Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Cancer Biology, Immunology, or a related discipline.

• Strong publication record with at least one first-author research article.

• Demonstrated ability to design, execute, and troubleshoot independent research projects.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Highly motivated, creative, and capable of working independently as well as in collaborative team environments.

Preferred qualifications:

Expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• RNA splicing, alternative splicing, RNA processing, or RNA-protein interactions.

• Cancer biology or cancer genomics.

• Tumor immunology and immune-cell biology.

• Genetically engineered mouse models, conditional knockout systems, or in vivo cancer studies.

• Next-generation sequencing approaches including RNA-seq, long-read RNA sequencing, CLIP-seq, single-cell RNA-seq, or CRISPR-based functional screening.

• Computational analysis of genomic and transcriptomic datasets.

Additional Information:

The successful candidate will join a highly collaborative and multidisciplinary research environment at City of Hope, with access to state-of-the-art genomics, single-cell, proteomics, and animal-model resources. The laboratory provides strong mentorship and opportunities for scientific independence, career advancement, and collaboration across cancer biology, immunology, and RNA biology programs.

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