Postdoctoral Associate | Bennett Lab

A Postdoctoral Associate position is available in Dr. Bennett's laboratory at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, ME. The Bennett Lab is dedicated to uncovering the fundamental mechanisms that govern the developmental emergence of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and translating these insights toward improved stem cell engineering for regenerative medicine.

The laboratory focuses on understanding HSC specification and maturation in embryonic development by:

• defining how TGF-/BMP signaling regulate the transition from pre‑HSCs to transplantable HSCs, including the role of SMAD7 and related downstream effectors.
• identifying novel regulators of this process and defining how rare pre‑hematopoietic stem cell intermediates arise from hemogenic endothelium and mature into fully functional, multi‑lineage engraftable HSCs.

Our long‑term goal is to identify the precise molecular signals that enable robust HSC formation and use this knowledge to improve the efficiency of producing transplantable HSCs for therapeutic purposes.

The Bennett Lab uses a multidisciplinary approach integrating mouse genetics, embryo models, transplantation assays, flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, clonal barcoding, and single‑cell genomics. It offers a highly collaborative environment with opportunities to work across programs at The Jackson Laboratory and with external collaborators in the field. Trainees will be supported in fellowship applications, publications, conference presentations, and career development toward academic or industry paths.

The successful candidate will be able to plan, develop, execute, and analyze an independent research project within the lab's main focus areas. Potential projects may include mechanistic studies into how TGFb/BMP signaling pathways regulate pre‑HSC maturation or mapping transcriptional states of developmental HSC emergence using single‑cell and clonal barcoding approaches.

Additional responsibilities include preparing manuscripts, fellowship applications, and conference presentations, as well as mentoring junior lab members and contributing to a collaborative team environment.

• Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent degree in biological sciences or related discipline
• Minimum of one first‑author publication from graduate studies or prior postdoctoral work
• Strong foundational training in molecular biology, cell biology, developmental biology, or stem cell biology
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Self‑motivated and able to work independently as well as collaboratively

• Experience or training in hematopoiesis, stem cell biology, developmental biology, or vascular biology
• Mouse models, transplantation assays, or in vivo lineage tracing
• Flow cytometry, cell sorting, and primary cell culture
• Single‑cell RNA‑seq, ATAC‑seq, spatial genomics, or related genomic technologies
• Lentiviral systems or clonal barcoding
• Computational biology, bioinformatics, or quantitative data analysis

Year 0 - 1: $65,589
Year 1 - 2: $67,318
Year 2 - 3: $69,095
Year 3 - 4: $70,521
Year 4 - 5: $72,877
Year 5 - 6: $75,569

Based on years of experience as Postdoc.

The Jackson Laboratory provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment in all job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, gender, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, national origin, veteran status, and other classifications protected by applicable state and local non‑discrimination laws.