Postdoctoral Fellowship and PhD Student Positions at Bilkent University

Positions in IMMUNOMETABOLISM in Ebru Erbay’s Laboratory at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey

My laboratory’s research focus is at the intersection of nutrient-sensitive, inflammatory and stress pathways in the context of chronic inflammatory and metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and atherosclerosis. A major, unanswered question in immunometabolism is: How do the excess of nutrients engage inflammatory and stress pathways in cells and lead to the development of chronic metabolic and inflammatory diseases? One clue is the chronic overloading of anabolic and catabolic organelles by nutrients leads to metabolic stress. Indeed, metabolic overload leads to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and activates the unfolded protein response (UPR). We are interested in particular with ER’s unconventional mechanisms of sensing the cellular lipid content and its role in coupling nutrient signals to inflammatory responses. Our laboratory’s major goal is to probe the molecular differences between the detrimental consequences of metabolic ER stress and the adaptive UPR that could be therapeutically exploited in chronic metabolic and inflammatory diseases. The UPR consists of three branches, however, specific tools to control any of these arms were not available. Our approach to this problem involves using chemical-genetics to specifically modulate the activities of important kinases in the ER stress response. This method allows mono-specific activation or inhibition of only the modified kinase in cells and tissues in vivo. Furthermore, this will be coupled to substrate discovery (both RNA and protein) and creation of transgenic mouse models where the activity of these essential kinases can be regulated at specific points during atherogenesis. This work involves a multidisciplinary approach including cell and molecular biology, chemical-genetics, RNA-sequencing, proteomics, metabolomics, transgenic mice, in vivo disease modeling, advanced imaging techniques, and therapeutic targeting of miRNAs. Detailed information on the project can be obtained by directly contacting Dr. Ebru Erbay at eerbay@bilkent.edu.tr.

This is a very exciting research project funded for the first time by ERC Starting Grant in Life Sciences in Turkey. Several postdoctoral fellowship positions and PhD student positions are available through an ERC Starting Grant, which will fund the above project for 5 years. In addition, these positions come with exceptional benefits (including subsidized housing for single and family, childcare, enrollment in excellent private health insurance program, on campus Bilkent University health services, food tickets, free transportation using Bilkent services, work computer, enrollment in Bilkent courses and continuing education programs, training and conference trips, etc.). The research will be carried out in our two new laboratories at the Department of Molecular Biology (http://www.fen.bilkent.edu.tr/~bilmbg/ and http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/~infobil/) and the Nanobiotechnology Laboratory in the National Nanotechnology Reserch Center (http://unam.bilkent.edu.tr/) located in Bilkent University campus. Our labs are equipped with state-of-the art equipment and have access to cores that will facilitate discovery.

Please, contact Dr. Ebru Erbay to inquire further information. For application the following are needed: (1) CV, (2) Letter of Interest, (3) A list of published work and copies of 3 most recent/relevant articles (mainly required for postdoctoral applicants), (4) The contact information of 3 references. These can be emailed by the deadline of September 30th, 2014 to eerbay@bilkent.edu.tr. Successful candidates will begin their new positions as of January of 2014.