Postdoctoral Associate | Ucar Lab

Postdoctoral Associate | Immunology

Ucar Lab | Farmington, CT

This position focuses on functional human immunology research under the supervision Dr. Duygu Ucar. The postdoctoral associate will design and execute experiments to dissect mechanisms of immune activation, regulation, and aging in human peripheral blood d immune cells. The role involves isolating and functionally characterizing PBMCs, performing multi-parameter flow cytometry, cytokine assays, and ex vivo stimulation experiments to investigate immune responses to infection, vaccination, and inflammation. The researcher will integrate functional assays with single-cell and genomic datasets, publish in peer-reviewed journals, and contribute to ongoing NIH- and foundation-funded projects on immune aging, vaccine responses, and host–pathogen interactions.

Key Responsibilities (What You Contribute)

• Design and conduct experiments using primary human immune cells to assess cellular function, activation, and cytokine responses (e.g., ELISA, ELISpot, multiplex cytokine assays).
• Perform PBMC isolation, flow cytometry panel design and analysis, and functional assays (e.g., proliferation, cytotoxicity, and co-culture systems).
• Apply systems immunology approaches by integrating functional data with transcriptomic, epigenetic, or proteomic analyses.
• Develop and optimize experimental protocols for innate and adaptive immune assays, including T cell, B cell, NK cell, and myeloid populations.
• Contribute to grant applications, manuscripts, and conference presentations, highlighting translational relevance of findings.
• Collaborate closely with computational biologists to interpret large-scale immune datasets and identify mechanistic insights.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to trainees and maintain rigorous documentation of experimental procedures and results.
  
  

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities (What You're Good At)

• Ph.D. in Immunology, Cell Biology, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience with multi-color flow cytometry, PBMC isolation, immune stimulation assays, and quantitative data analysis.
• Strong background in human immunology, including T and B cell biology, cytokine signaling, and innate–adaptive interactions.
• Familiarity with integrating functional and omics datasets (e.g., scRNA-seq, CITE-seq, or ATAC-seq) is an asset.
  
  

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

About JAX

The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution with a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center and nearly 3,000 employees in locations across the United States (Maine, Connecticut, California), Japan and China. Its mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health.

Founded in 1929, JAX applies over nine decades of expertise in genetics to increase understanding of human disease, advancing treatments and cures for cancer, neurological and immune disorders, diabetes, aging and heart disease. It models and interprets genomic complexity, integrates basic research with clinical application, educates current and future scientists, and provides critical data, tools and services to the global biomedical community. For more information, please visit www.jax.org .

EEO Statement

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.