1. Research Direction:
Develop new diagnostic method for coronavirus based on DNA functional structures
2. Training plan:
Zhejiang University/University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute (ZJUI) is currently recruiting postdoctoral fellows in multiple interdisciplinary fields across engineering and science. ZJUI is an engineering school affiliated to Zhejiang University, located on Haining International Campus of Zhejiang University that is around 120 kilometers away from Shanghai and 80 km away from Hangzhou. The main research fields in ZJUI include engineering and science in human healthcare, flexible manufacturing, energy, environment and sustainable developments, etc. This postdoctoral program will be co-supervised by Dr. Fangwei Shao at ZJUI and Dr. Lu Yi/Dr. Wang Xing at UIUC. The project is to develop novel nucleic acid aptamers and nucleic acid nanostructures (such as DNA origami, nucleic acid nanohydrogels, etc.) targeting specific pathogens. By constructing three-dimensional DNA structures with define stoichiometric/spatial arrangement of multiple aptamers on nanometer scale, these DNA nanostructures could achieve multi-modulus synergetic and cooperative targeting pathogens with high specificity and avidity. In order to develop new efficient and highly specific pathogen diagnosis and clinical treatment methods. The candidate will complete one year of research work in ZJUI and UIUC respectively.
Dr. Shao Fangwei got her PhD under the supervision of Professor Jacqueline K. Barton, Dean of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at California Institute of Technology. In 2010, she joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and was supported by the Nanyang Assistant Professor Program to establish an independent research group. In 2019, she joined ZJUI. Research direction: nucleic acid chemistry; bio-inorganic chemistry; chemical biology; bio-nanomaterials. Representative corresponding author papers are published in many pretigious international journals such as J. Am. Chem. Soc, Angew Chemie Intl Ed, Nucleic Acids Res, etc. For more information, please visit Dr. Shao’s group homepage: https://person.zju.edu.cn/fwshao.
Dr. Yi Lu graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry from Peking University in 1986 and received his Ph.D. degree from UCLA in 1992 under Dr. Joan S. Valentine. After two years of postdoctoral research in the group of Dr. Harry B. Gray at the Caltech, Dr. Lu started his own independent career in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1994. He is now Jay and Ann Schenck Professor in the Departments of Chemistry, Biochemistry, Materials Science and Engineering and Bioengineering. Specific areas of current interests include a) design and engineering of functional metalloproteins as environmentally benign catalysis in renewable energy generation and pharmaceuticals; b) developing a fundamental understanding of DNAzymes and their applications in environmental monitoring, medical diagnostics, and targeted drug delivery; and c) employing principles from biology for directed assembly of nanomaterials and developing their applications in photonics and sensing. For more information, please visit Dr. Lu's personal homepage: http://lulab.scs.illinois.edu/
Dr Xing Wang received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from New York University (2009) from Professor Ned C. Seeman’s group. He then did his postdoctoral training at Princeton University to explore novel functions of synthetic RNAs in genome editing (2013). In 2014, he joined Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to establish a laboratory to explore novel functions and structures of synthetic RNAs in genome editing and the applications in biosensors and pathogen therapy. He joined UIUC in 2019. The research interests of Wang Xing's group: design and mass production of functional DNA nanostructures, sequence editing of specific and functional RNA, and clinical applications of DNA nanostructures and RNA editing in biosensors and clinic biomedicine. For more information, please visit Dr. Wang’s personal homepage: https://sites.google.com/site/xingwangslab
3. General requirements:
1) The applicants are under 35 years old.
2) Ph.D. degree from prestigious universities worldwide.
3) Applicants have research experience in nucleic acid chemistry. Research experience in design and characterization (such as AFM, TEM) of DNA origami and/or DNA aptamer screening would be highly appreciated.
4) Applicants shall have self-motivated working attitudes and have a good writing and communication skills in English.
4. Application procedures
For who are interested in applying for the position, please send your CV (including but not limited to basic personal information, education and work experiences, and research experience), 5 representative papers and other materials by email. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed by a searching committee with PIs and/or institute management, and then be submitted to Zhejiang University for final approval. Successful candidates shall register on the China postdoctoral official website and finish the registration procedures at Zhejiang University.
5. Working methods and treatments
The joint postdoctoral program are 2 years. The successful candidates will spend one year each in Dr Shao’s laboratory at ZJUI and Dr. Lu/Dr. Wang’s at UIUC, respectively. According to Zhejiang University's regulations of postdoctoral fellow program, upon completion, the postdoc fellow needs to attend the assessment and meet the requirements of postdoctoral fellow program at ZJU. The school and PIs will provide an annual stipend up to 300,000 yuan plus performance-based incentives. Regular post-doctoral benefit package will be provided by ZJU during the stay at ZJUI. Additional salary subsides may be provided by UIUC PIs during the year at UIUC. Postdoc fellows with outstanding performance could enter tenure track of ZJUI faculty upon further assessment after completion of postdoctoral program.
Contact us:
If you are interest in applying for the joint postdoc position, please send your resume to fwshao@zju.edu.cn, xingw@illinois.edu or yi-lu@illinois.edu
