Postdoctoral Researcher Position | Phage Therapy | UC San Diego

Postdoctoral Researcher Position – Llorente Lab

The Llorente Lab within the Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine at UC San Diego, is hiring a Postdoctoral Researcher to join our NIH-funded research program focused on developing innovative microbiome-based therapeutic approaches for gastrointestinal and liver diseases. Our research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that regulate intestinal homeostasis, including interactions among the intestinal epithelium, microbiome, and immune system, and how these processes influence liver disease, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), as well as substance use disorders.

The successful candidate will contribute to a new research program focused on bacteriophage biology and microbiome-targeted therapeutics. The project will involve the characterization and development of microbiome-directed approaches and the investigation of their effects on host physiology and disease. The work will integrate microbiology, molecular biology, gastrointestinal biology, and in vivo models.

Our project investigates the gut–liver axis using preclinical animal models and patient-derived samples. We employ cutting-edge approaches, including metabolomics, metagenomics, single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, phage therapy, and intestinal and liver organoid cultures, to uncover mechanisms underlying disease and identify novel therapeutic strategies. A major goal of our research is translational: to identify and develop innovative therapeutic approaches for liver disease and substance use disorders, including bacteriophage-based therapies and other microbiome-targeted interventions.

Qualifications

Applicants must have a PhD in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, biology, immunology, pharmacy, or a related biomedical science discipline.

We are particularly interested in candidates with expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• Bacteriophage biology, phage isolation, characterization, or engineering
• Microbiology and bacterial genetics
• Host–microbiome interactions
• Microbiome research and microbial ecology
• Molecular biology and microbial physiology
• Development of microbiome-targeted or microbial therapeutics
• Gastrointestinal biology
• In vivo biomedical research and preclinical disease models

Experience with bacteriophage isolation, propagation, purification, and characterization; bacterial culture and genetic manipulation; microbiome profiling, metagenomics, or microbial community analysis; and in vivo mouse models would be advantageous.

The ideal candidate will be highly motivated, intellectually curious, creative, and passionate about science, with a strong record of research productivity and a desire to pursue innovative and translational research.

Application

• We look forward to hearing from enthusiastic and motivated scientists interested in advancing our understanding of the gut–liver and gut–brain axes and developing new therapeutic strategies for human disease.