Research Fellow

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Michigan Medicine improves the health of patients, populations and communities through excellence in education, patient care, community service, research and technology development, and through leadership activities in Michigan, nationally and internationally. Our mission is guided by our Strategic Principles and has three critical components; patient care, education and research that together enhance our contribution to society.

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Fellow to establish and drive an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived hematopoietic and immune cell differentiation platform in the lab. The successful candidate will develop and maintain robust iPSC culture and banking practices, generate standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the laboratory, and lead an embryoid body (EB)-based differentiation pipeline to generate immune cell populations of interest, with an initial focus on mast cells, for downstream phenotypic and functional characterization.

A central aim of the project is to resolve the identity and lineage potential of early hematopoietic precursor populations that arise within the differentiating culture, using multiparameter flow cytometry to isolate and functionally test these cells. This is an excellent opportunity for a cell biologist with strong hands-on stem cell and immune cell culture experience to build a versatile in-house model system from the ground up and apply it broadly across projects in immune cell development and disease biology.

• Establish, culture, and cryopreserve human iPSC lines under feeder-based or feeder-free conditions, maintaining pluripotency and karyotypic stability across passages.
• Author and implement SOPs and quality-control checkpoints for iPSC maintenance, banking, and differentiation, ensuring reproducibility across users and cohorts.
• Generate embryoid bodies from iPSC colonies and drive hematopoietic and immune lineage differentiation using established cytokine-based protocols.
• Characterize differentiated immune cell populations, including morphological, phenotypic (surface marker), and functional assays relevant to the lineage(s) under study.
• Identify and track early hematopoietic progenitor populations emerging within the differentiating culture over time.
• Design and perform multiparameter flow cytometric analysis and FACS-based purification of hematopoietic precursor subsets.
• Evaluate the lineage-forming potential of purified precursor populations through downstream culture and functional assays.
• Analyze, interpret, and present data at lab meetings and scientific conferences; contribute to manuscript preparation and grant reporting.
• Mentor junior trainees (graduate students, undergraduates) contributing to the project.

• Ph.D. in Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Immunology, Developmental Biology, or a related field.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with primary or stem cell culture and rigorous, reproducible bench technique.
• Strong record of independent, hypothesis-driven research, evidenced by first-author publications.
• Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to develop and document SOPs and train others in them.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.

• Prior experience with iPSC or ESC culture, embryoid body formation, and/or hematopoietic differentiation protocols.
• Background in innate immune cell biology (e.g., neutrophils, mast cells, myeloid progenitors) and inflammatory mediator biology.
• Experience with calcium-signaling or ion-channel-dependent cellular processes relevant to immune cell activation.
• Track record of mentoring trainees and contributing to a collaborative, team-oriented lab environment.

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment.

Please include a cover letter, CV and contact information for references.