POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER - Surgery (Immunology and Cell Fate)- Levi Lab

A postdoctoral training position is available in the laboratory of Dr. Benjamin Levi, in the Center for Organogenesis and Trauma, Children’s Research Institute and Center for Mineral Researcher at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The Postdoctoral Researcher would be joining a basic and translational laboratory funded by the NIH and DOD that consists of post-doctoral fellows, medical students, technicians and a research scientist supervised by Dr. Benjamin Levi.

Research Focus Currently, the Levi Lab studies immune-driven mechanisms of tissue repair, regeneration, and pathology following trauma. Current work focuses on how innate and adaptive immune responses shape cell fate decisions that lead to outcomes such as heterotopic ossification, fibrosis, impaired regeneration, fracture healing, and burn injury. This research integrates immunology and regenerative biology offering postdoctoral fellows the opportunity to translate mechanistic immune insights into therapeutic strategies. Commonly used skills include mouse surgery, histology, immunohistochemistry, single cell RNA sequencing, metabolomics, flow cytometry and Cytof.

Current projects address questions such as:

· How do inflammatory immune states instruct mesenchymal and stromal cell fate?

· Which immune-derived signals promote regeneration versus pathological repair?

· Can immune programs be therapeutically redirected to restore tissue homeostasis?

This work places immunology at the center of regenerative and trauma biology, integrating immune mechanisms with in vivo models, histology, and translational endpoints.

Training Environment

The Levi Laboratory prioritizes rigorous science within a culture of mentorship, collaboration, and wellness. Postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to develop independent research directions, lead interdisciplinary collaborations, and receive active support for career development in academia, industry, or clinical research.

This position offers a highly mentored but independent postdoctoral experience. Fellows are expected to drive immune-focused hypotheses, design experiments, and lead publications, while benefiting from close interaction with clinicians, engineers, and regenerative biologists. The laboratory has strong NIH and DoD support, providing a stable environment for high-risk, high-impact immunology research.

Postdoctoral fellows receive active mentorship in:

· Publishing first-author manuscripts in high-impact journals

· Grant and fellowship applications

· Career development for academic, industry, or physician–scientist paths

Vision of the Levi Laboratory: Enhance the human experience.

Mission of Levi Laboratory: Maintain a culture of collaboration, connection, rigor and wellness to support ground-breaking research using state of the art techniques and technologies to help those afflicted by injuries and diseases of the skin and musculoskeletal systems.

Candidates must hold a Ph.D. in Immunology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry or other relevant branches of biological sciences. Experience in designing, building, and maintaining optical imaging systems and equipment and histologic analyses leading to publication in peer-reviewed journals is recommended.

Alumni have gone on to faculty positions, industry research roles, and surgical research careers.

Information on our postdoctoral training program, benefits, and a virtual tour can be found at http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/postdocs.

Interested individuals should send a CV, a brief statement of interests in a cover letter, and three references to:

Benjamin Levi, MD

Lee-Hudson Professor and Chief of General Surgery Director, Center for Organogenesis and Trauma (CORT)

UT Southwestern Medical Center 5323 Harry Hines Blvd.

Dallas, TX 75390-9158 Benjamin.Levi@UTSouthwestern.edu https://www.burnwoundlab.com Benjamin Levi, M.D. - Faculty Profile - UT Southwestern https://levilaboratory.com/

UT Southwestern Medical Center is committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal opportunity to all members of the University community.  As an equal opportunity employer, UT Southwestern prohibits unlawful discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or veteran status.

This position is security-sensitive and subject to Texas Education Code 51.215, which authorizes UT Southwestern to obtain criminal history record information.

Appointment rank will be commensurate with academic accomplishment and experience. Consideration may be given to applicants seeking less than a full-time schedule.

To learn more about the benefits UT Southwestern offers, visit https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/employees/hr-resources/

Salary : $1,000 - $1,000,000