Volunteer Research Position
Volunteer Research Position Ideal for Candidate Looking to Familiarize with Biology Lab Experiments
Volunteer Research Position
Molecular and Mechanistic Cell Signaling Laboratory (Magupalli Lab)
The Magupalli Lab at Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute (LFKRI) | New York Blood Center (NYBC) seeks a highly motivated student for a volunteer research position who will conduct research training under the mentorship of Dr. Venkat Magupalli, Assistant Faculty Member at LFKRI/NYBC.
The broad interest of the Magupalli Lab is to decipher the molecular and mechanistic basis of inflammasome signaling in physiological and pathological conditions.
Inflammasomes are supramolecular organizing centers of the innate immune system and are widely regarded as an interface between host-pathogen interactions. Inflammasomes are activated upon sensing pathogenic and damage signatures, resulting in downstream recruitment and activation of inflammatory caspase-1, leading to the processing of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1b, IL-18) and gasdermin D (GSDMD) to induce cytokine release and an inflammatory cell death termed pyroptosis. Dysregulated inflammasome has been associated with many pathological conditions, including myeloid malignancies (MDS/AML), cytokine storms triggered by pathogens, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cancers, autoinflammatory diseases, gout, and sepsis. Currently, the cellular mechanisms through which the inflammasome drives the inflammatory state are yet to be fully elucidated or exploited as therapeutic targets, and there is a need that is both urgent and unmet.
Multiple projects are aimed at using various cutting-edge technologies (cellular, which encompass biochemical, cellular, and structural mechanisms in in vivo biology) to shed light on inflammasome signaling. Volunteer positions offer an exciting opportunity to learn biology (theory and practical experience) and to work closely with scientists and medical professionals in the highly collaborative and stimulating environment at LFKRI/NYBC, right at the heart of the vibrant Manhattan area, which is close to other premier institutes including Rockefeller University, Columbia University in the city of New York, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Recent Publications:
1) HDAC6-mediated aggresome-like mechanism for NLRP3 and Pyrin inflammasome activation.
Venkat Giri Magupalli*†, Roberto Negro*†, Arthur V. Haeunstein*, Yuzi Tian*, Giuseppe Di Caprio, Wesley Skillern, Qiufang Deng, Pontus Orning, Hasan B. Alam, Zoltan Maliga, Humayun Sharif, Jun Jacob Hu, Charles L. Evavold, Jonathan C. Kagan, Florian I. Schmidt, Katherine A. Fitzgerald, Tomas Kirchhausen, Yongqing Li† and Hao Wu†.
Science. 2020;369(6510). Epub 2020/09/19. doi: 10.1126/science.aas8995. †Co-corresponding author. *Co-first authors, contributed equally.
2) Unified polymerization mechanism for the assembly of ASC-dependent inflammasomes.
Alvin Lu*, Venkat Giri Magupalli*, Jianbin Ruan*, Qian Yin, Maninjay K. Atianand, Matthijn Vos, Gunner F. Schröder, Katherine A. Fitzgerald, Hao Wu and Edward H. Egelman.
Cell. 2014; 156: 1193-1206. *Co-first authors, contributed equally.
3) Structural mechanism for NEK7-licensed NLRP3 inflammasome activation.
Humayun Sharif, Li Wang, Wei Li Wang, Venkat Giri Magupalli, Liudmila Andreeva, Qi Qiao, Arthur V. Hauenstein, Zhaolong Wu, Gabriel Nunez, Youdong Mao, and Hao Wu.
Nature. 2019; 570 (7761): 338-343.
4) Cryo-EM structures of the active NLRP3 inflammasome disk.
Le Xiao, Venkat Giri Magupalli, and Hao Wu.
Nature. 2022; Nov 28. Doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05570-8. Online ahead of print.
Requirements:
For the volunteer research position, productivity, perseverance, time management, and good communication skills are required.
How to apply:
Interested candidates should send a short cover letter, CV, and contact information for three references to vmagupalli@nybc.org. Candidates will be evaluated on a rolling basis until the positions are filled.
Venkat G. Magupalli
Assistant Member,
Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute
New York Blood Center
601 Midland Avenue
New York, NY 10580, USA