Category: News

The postdoctoral scholar would research the biomechanics of host-pathogen interactions underlying infectious endocarditis.  Oral streptococci are a major cause of infective endocarditis (IE), a life-threatening infection of heart valves. The postdoc would lead an investigation of bacteria-blood cell interactions using flow cytometry, imaging flow cytometry and gene expression analysis with nanostring nCounter®. The postdoc would also collaborate with investigators performing microfluidics to characterize streptococci-platelet adhesion and the impact of streptococci on various platelet functions, and would have the opportunity to work with colleagues working on animal models of streptococcal sepsis and IE. This project is a multi-PI collaborative project with Paul Sullam (Microbiologist at UCSF) and Jose Lopez (Hematologist at Bloodworks NW).

This is a full-time position with a 12-month service period (July 1-June 30), with the possibility for yearly renewal dependent upon performance and continued funding.

The base salary range for this position will be $5,705 per month, commensurate with experience and qualifications, or as mandated by a U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination.

For more information, see the job posting.

Casey Kiyohara graduated recently with a Ph.D. from the Thomas lab, and just started a new position as a postdoctoral fellow at the FDA. She is in the Clinical Pharmacology of Therapeutic Biologics and Biosimilars Fellowship program, in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). Her project is focused on investigating the pharmicokinetic characteristics of therapeutic proteins.

This makes Casey the second Thomas Lab Alumnus to work at the FDA. Victoria Rodriguez, Ph.D. ’12 works in the Office of Cardiovascular Devices on sterilization, as one of the first Thomas lab members to merge interests in infection with cardiovascular disease.

Thomas lab alumni, Kayla Hogan and Sai Paul are first and co- authors of a new publication titled “Effect of Gravity on Bacterial Adhesion to Heterogeneous Surfaces.” This publication reports Kayla’s senior capstone project, Sai’s freshman project, and also includes contributions from co-authors who worked on a related Computational Bioengineering class project.  In the paper, we use experiments and computational models to describe how bacterial adhesion to adhesion regions can reflect sedimentation and the geometry of fluidic channels as much as adhesivity.

At long last, the Thomas lab has an updated web site!