"Postdoctoral Fellow-Tumor Microenvironment, Cancer Immunology"

Position Highlights

The laboratory of Dr. Junko Sawada at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Fellow. The focus research project is understanding the interactions between immune cells and the local tissue environment in the context of cancer immunology and autoimmunity. Related publications are found in Sawada et al., Nature Immunology, 2025, Cancer Immunol Res. 2022, Sawada et al., Cancer Cell, 2012, and Sawada et al., Am J Pathol. 2021.

This project will primarily utilize newly developed mouse models to generate tertiary lymphoid structures in tumor and autoimmune disease as well as in vitro cell culture systems along with high dimensional analysis approaches such as flowcytometry, immunohistochemistry, cultured-cell assay systems, and single-cell RNA sequencing.

Representative publications include Nature Immunology (2025; PMID: 40897896), Cancer Immunology Research (2022; PMID: 35201289), American Journal of Pathology (2021; PMID: 33159887), and Cancer Cell (2012; PMID: 22897853).

Eligibility and requirements

Highly motivated and skilled applicants with strong interests in cancer immunology, the tumor microenvironment, and autoimmune disease are encouraged to apply. Candidates should have a Ph.D. or be in the process of completing a Ph.D., with at least one first-author publication from their Ph.D. thesis that demonstrates strong scientific thinking and experimental design. Applicants must also have hands-on experience in at least one of the following techniques: flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, cell-based assays, biochemical assays, molecular/cell biology, or mouse disease model research. Experience in pathology or mouse genetics is a plus. We are also seeking applicants with bioinformatics expertise for human and mouse genetic analyses.

Interested applicants should e-mail a CV, publication list, a brief description of research interests, career goals, research experience, and contact information for 2–3 references to Dr. Sawada: jsawada1@jhmi.edu