Postdoctoral Position in Pulmonary - Belperio Lab

Position Overview

Salary range:
See Table 23 in the UC Salary Scales. A reasonable estimate for this position is $69,073-$82,836.

Open date:
May 8, 2026

Next review date:
Monday, Jun 8, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time). Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date:
Tuesday, Jun 30, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time). Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

We are seeking applications from qualified candidates for a postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of Dr. John Belperio, an NIH‑funded laboratory within the UCLA Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine.

We are looking for an M.D. or Ph.D. with a biostatistical background to work on bulk RNAseq, ssRNAseq, CITE seq, TCR, methylomics, microbiome, snRNAseq, and proteomics to perform analyses via vertical platforms for predicting lung transplant allograft injuries and chronic rejection. The candidate will also have an immunology background to work with mouse models and human samples for the discovery of pathways that lead to fibrosis, emphysema, or granulomas.

Our research program focuses on lung transplant with the goal of inducing murine tolerance via hematopoietic mixed chimerism without radiation in the heterotopic tracheal transplant model of murine obliterative bronchiolitis and/or the orthotopic lung transplant model. This would be work dealing with naive and allo‑sensitized mice. We also study pathways of acute rejection via endothelial and epithelial cell rejection and pathways of chronic rejection/fibrosis.

Our program also focuses on pulmonary fibrosis with the goal of discovering novel pathways using explanted lung tissues and performing proof‑of‑concept studies using the murine bleomycin model of lung fibrosis. We also study COPD with the goal of discovering novel pathways using explanted lung tissues and performing proof‑of‑concept studies using the porcine elastase model of emphysema. Our program also focuses on sarcoidosis, discovering novel pathways using explanted lung tissues and inducing non‑necrotizing lung granuloma in mice.

Work will include using explanted human lung, lymph node tissue, bronchioalveolar lavage cells and fluid, and plasma/sera/PBMCs for ssRNAseq, proteomics, microbiome, flow cytometry, transcriptomics and methylomics. Similar studies will be performed with transgenic mice with the addition of adoptive transfer experiments and recall assays.

Typical techniques used include immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, multiplex immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, Luminex multiplexing protein concentrations, snRNAseq and ssRNAseq. We also perform adoptive transfer studies and recall response assays. R‑programming is preferred. The position will involve conducting experiments in our immunology and cell/molecular biology in the lab. Experience with conditional knockout mouse models, primary epithelial cell lines, flow cytometry, ELISA, protein and DNA‑based molecular biology, biochemistry, cell/tissue culture, fluorescence and confocal microscopy, and DNA/RNA sequencing, ssRNAseq, flow cytometry is preferred.

The projects involve both in vitro and in vivo experimentation at the intersection of immunology, cell biology, and bioinformatics. Experience with standard cellular biology techniques and working with murine in vivo models is preferred but not required. Experience in bioinformatics is encouraged but is not mandatory.

This is an NIH Postdoctoral Training Fellowship, and candidates must have a Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent and U.S. citizenship or permanent residency.

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Basic qualifications

• A Ph.D. in biomedical sciences or an M.D. is required. U.S.…