Postdoctoral Fellow - Diabetes Research

Join the forefront of groundbreaking research at the Beckman Research Institute of 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.

A Postdoctoral Fellow position is available in the laboratory of Dr. Sangeeta Dhawan at the Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute. Dr. Dhawan leads an NIH‑funded research program at the intersection of epigenetics, developmental programming, and diabetes pathobiology. Her laboratory is uncovering how the molecular programs that establish pancreatic beta‑cell identity also determine lifelong resilience or vulnerability to disease. Current projects investigate how disrupted DNA methylation and chromatin regulation can drive genomic instability, senescence, and beta‑cell vulnerability in diabetes.

A major focus is understanding how beta‑cell intrinsic changes can influence their immunogenicity in type 1 diabetes and identifying mechanisms that can be targeted to preserve functional beta‑cell mass and prevent disease progression.

The lab integrates innovative genetic mouse models, human islets and pancreas slices, advanced imaging, and epigenomic, single‑cell, and spatial biology approaches to uncover fundamental mechanisms of islet development and disease.

Dr. Dhawan’s multidisciplinary, NIH funded program offers the opportunity to lead conceptually innovative and high‑impact mechanistic research with clear translational relevance to diabetes prevention and therapeutic discovery.

• Conduct research on NIH‑funded and other supported projects defining how developmental epigenetic programs regulate beta‑cell genomic stability, stress resilience, and immune visibility, and how their disruption contributes to diabetes susceptibility and pathogenesis.
• Work within a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary environment while developing new research questions and directions.
• Perform studies using primary human and mouse islets and pancreas tissue, cell‑culture based systems, genetic mouse models, and disease models, with molecular biology, single‑cell, spatial, imaging, and epigenomic technologies.
• Design hypothesis‑driven studies, independently plan and execute experiments, analyze data, and interpret findings.
• Communicate research findings through presentations at national and international meetings and publications in high‑impact, peer‑reviewed journals.
• Develop an independent scientific vision and individualized career‑development plan.
• Receive extensive mentorship in manuscript preparation, fellowship and grant writing, and the transition toward research independence.
• Contribute to mentoring and training junior researchers, students, and interns.

• PhD in Molecular, Cellular, or Developmental Biology.
• Strong interest in diabetes research.
• Extensive experience with basic molecular biology skills.
• Extensive experience in handling animal models.
• Experience with tissue collection, histology, immunohistochemistry, and cell sorting.
• Experience with cell culture, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry.
• Experience with epigenetic and single cell methods preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Evidence of productivity reflected in first author publications in peer‑reviewed journals.
• Willingness to apply for fellowships and training grants.
• Willingness to learn and establish new methodology.

City of Hope employees pay is based on the following criteria: work experience, qualifications, and work location.

City of Hope is an equal opportunity employer.

To learn more about our Comprehensive Benefits, please .