• Home
  • WHO WE ARE
    • Principal Investigator
    • Deputy Director
    • Researchers
    • Alumni
  • Research
    • COVID-19
    • Cancer Immunotherapy
    • Emerging Infectious Diseases
    • Antibody Engineering
    • Regenerative Med/Adult Stem Cell Biol
    • Humanized Mice
  • News
    • Publications
  • Join us
  • Contact
Marasco Lab - Treatment of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Cancer

JOIN US

The Marasco Lab offers exciting research opportunities in human antibody engineering and regenerative medicine.  With our numerous tools including state-of-the-art humanized mouse models, we are making discoveries in B cell development, host immunity and vaccine design for both infectious disease and cancer immunotherapy applications.  Our research team focuses on identification of clinically relevant human monoclonal antibodies and studies of their mechanism of action.  Our humanized mouse models are also being used to investigate the pluripotency of adult stem cells with applications in the field of regenerative medicine. 

​Working in Dr. Marasco's laboratory provides exposure to the most recent developments in the field of antibody engineering, cancer immunotherapy, and adult stem cell biology. We are always looking for highly motivated post-doctoral fellows and graduate students to join our research team, particularly those individuals with high intellect who are also creative thinkers. 

Applicants should have a strong interest in human translational research. Job openings are posted with DFCI Human Resources. Interested applicants should address their cover letter to:

Wayne A. Marasco, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Cancer Immunology & Virology
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
450 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02215


Current Openings
​If you are interested in joining the lab, please send your CV and cover letter to MarascoLab@dfci.harvard.edu.

Research Fellow - Marasco Lab (Job ID: 2022-27339)

Description:
Exciting opportunity for an exceptional post-doc applicant to be co-mentored by Drs. Hemberg (computational biology) and Marasco (infectious diseases) in the area of infectious diseases research. The Hemberg group, formerly at the Wellcome Sanger Institute (https://www.sanger.ac.uk/group/hemberg-group/) has recently relocated to the Evergrande Center for Immunological Diseases (https://evergrande.hms.harvard.edu/home) at the Department of Neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Department of Immunology at Harvard Medical School in Boston. This location offers unique opportunities in terms of scientific collaborations in a highly dynamic and interdisciplinary environment.

The Marasco lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (www.marascolab.org) is leading the bench work on two related research projects to understand the human antibody response to emerging pathogens. Importantly, the Hemberg and Marasco labs are located within short walking distance from each other. We have recently initiated a collaboration related to the use of single-cell RNA-seq to understand human B cells and antibody responses to influenza and COVID vaccines.

Responsibilities
The funding available is for an initial appointment over three years and the starting date is flexible. The candidate will be expected to carry out research (both independently and as part of a team), participate in group discussions, and write research proposals and manuscripts. Successful candidates should demonstrate a track record of research achievements and have excellent communication skills.

Qualifications
Those with a background in related areas such as computer science, physics, chemistry, statistics and mathematics are encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will have strong quantitative skills, and a good knowledge of R, python and/or other programming languages. Background knowledge in immunology, genomics and molecular biology is desirable, but not required.
Research Fellow - Marasco Lab (Job ID: 2022-28990)

Description:
A postdoctoral fellow position in the Marasco lab in the Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology is available to join our human antibody discovery and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell cancer therapy programs. This fellow will lead our efforts in developing immune restoring (IR) CAR T cells and examining the combinatorial effect of CAR T with expression of the immune modulator antibodies on inhibiting tumor growth in vitro and in vivo in ovarian cancer (OvCA). Working with a team of dedicated research staff including computational, cellular, molecular and structural biologists and virologists, this fellow will be responsible for designing and executing in vitro and in vivo experiments for their designated disease area.

Located in Boston and the surrounding communities, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute brings together world renowned clinicians, innovative researchers and dedicated professionals, allies in the common mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS and emerging infectious diseases. Combining extremely talented people with the best technologies in a genuinely positive environment, we provide compassionate and comprehensive care to patients of all ages; we conduct research that advances treatment; we educate tomorrow's physician/researchers; we reach out to underserved members of our community; and we work with amazing partners, including other Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals.

Responsibilities:
The postdoctoral fellow will generate cancer target specific CAR constructs, create CAR T-cells, carry out in vitro assays to test and optimize their biological activities, including generating appropriate tumor target cell lines, optimizing CAR T proliferation conditions, setting up in vitro target cell killing assays, characterizing CAR T cells’ responses to stimulation by target cells such as degranulation, cytokine production, cellular phosphorylation levels of intracellular signaling domains and activation induced cell death. The fellow is expected to set up appropriate tumor model(s) in humanized mice and perform in vivo experiments to evaluate therapeutic potential of specific IR CAR T-cells for the intended cancer target(s). In addition to monitoring tumor growth and metastases, the fellow will assess the activity of CAR T cells (proliferation, exhaustion etc.), and analyze tumor microenvironment by transcriptional profiling using scRNAseq and other molecular means as well as multiparameter flow cytometry/immunohistochemistry. While we are not a computational biology laboratory, support for scRNAseq will be provided but a candidate should become familiar with this field. The candidate must be a self-starter and highly motivated team player. The fellow is expected to work independently, well versed in the related literature, and contribute/lead intellectually to their research program. The team member will also be responsible for providing regular written and oral presentations. The successful candidate must demonstrate excellent writing and verbal communications skills. 

Qualifications:
Ph.D. degree with documented research experience in molecular biology and immunology, especially in antibody discovery and/or CAR T cell therapy. Experiences in cancer animal model and relevant molecular, biochemical and immunological techniques are preferred. We are particular interested in the candidates with prior research experience in the area of cellular immunology, gene-editing, and/or specializing in mouse surgery and establishing human immune system reconstructed mouse models. The individual is also expected to be able to parallel processing (good time management skills), well organized, and pay careful attention to experimental details. While supervisory experience will be a plus, the candidate should expect to be fully involved in hands-on bench work.
 HOME |WHO WE ARE | RESEARCH | NEWS | JOIN US | CONTACT

©2016 Marasco Lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute