POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW POSITIONS on Onco-cardiology

NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowships are available in Dr. Jun-ichi Abe’s laboratory in the Department of Cardiology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (http://faculty.mdanderson.org/Jun-ichi_Abe/Default.asp) to investigate molecular signaling underlying vascular inflammation using mouse transgenic, knock-out, and knock-in models. The Department of Cardiology at MD Anderson was founded in 2000 as the first onco-cardiology unit in the world to provide comprehensive cardiac care to patients with cancer. The vision of the Department of Cardiology is to be the model of onco-cardiology (or cardio-oncology) units throughout the world.

Approximately 75% of cancer survivors have some form of chronic health problem. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in this population, particularly after recurrent or second malignancy. The risk of CVD in cancer survivors is 8 times higher than that of the general population. The relative risks of coronary artery disease and heart failure in cancer survivors are 10 times and 15 times higher, respectively, than their siblings without cancer. Cancer treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation, can lead to both short- and long-term cardiovascular complications. Evidence of subclinical cardiac and vascular damage was observed in more than 50% of survivors 5 to 10 years after chemotherapy. Although it has been well recognized clinically, it is not understood how various forms of cancer therapy negatively affect cardiac as well as vascular functions. Therefore, our visions are to reassess the effect of cancer and chemotherapy treat!
ment on endothelial cells under physiological and pathological mechano-stresses and to determine those effects on EC dysfunction, thromboembolism, hypertension, and delayed appearance of cardiovascular complications such as atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction. These studies will be especially critical to better understand cardiovascular disease in cancer survivors which is a major cancer-related morbidity. The reorganized cardiovascular research group at MD Anderson that integrates the seemingly diverse areas of cancer biology, chemotherapy-mediated cardiac toxicity, and small molecule development with our research on both extra- and intra-cellular signal transduction pathways with technical expertise in confocal microscopy, cardio-vascular pathophysiology, and molecular imaging will be a highly competitive research program second to none.

All candidates should possess MD, PhD or MD/PhD degrees, be fluent in verbal and written English, and have a strong background and publication record in vascular and/or cardiac molecular research. Our laboratories offer a wealth of technical capabilities including cardiovascular pathophysiology, confocal microscopy, proteomics, and analysis of signal transduction pathways including kinase and transcriptional activity.

Department of Cardiology at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center enjoys an interactive and collaborative environment ideal for scientific discovery. We believe and always emphasize that forming of effective team is an intermediate goal towards performing good science and sustainable results. Based on this concept, we offer multi-disciplinary training opportunities including a weekly seminar series, journal clubs, and other career-development activities, such as grant writing and funding in cutting-edge cardiovascular and oncology research in our center.

Please send a statement of research interests, curriculum vitae, and three letters of reference to:

Jun-ichi Abe, MD, PhD, FAHA
Professor
Department of Cardiology
Division of Internal Medicine
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
2121 W Holcombe Blvd. IBT8 803e
Houston, TX 77030
713-745-2802 (TEL)
713-745-2816 (FAX)
E-mail: jabe@mdanderson.org