About City of Hope

City of Hope is an independent biomedical research and treatment organization for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.

Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a leader in bone marrow transplantation and immunotherapy such as CAR T cell therapy. City of Hope’s translational research and personalized treatment protocols advance care throughout the world. Human synthetic insulin, monoclonal antibodies and numerous breakthrough cancer drugs are based on technology developed at the institution.  AccessHope™, a subsidiary launched in 2019 serves employers and their health care partners by providing access to City of Hope’s specialized cancer expertise.

A National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, City of Hope is ranked among the nation’s “Best Hospitals” in cancer by U.S. News & World Report and received Magnet Recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Its main campus is located near Los Angeles, with additional locations throughout Southern California and in Arizona.

City of Hope’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We believe diversity, equity and inclusion is key in serving our mission to provide compassionate patient care, drive innovative discovery, and advance vital education focused on eliminating cancer and diabetes in all of our communities.  Our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ensures we bring the full range of skills, perspectives, cultural backgrounds and experiences to our work -- and that our teams align with the people we serve in order to build trust and understanding.  We are dedicated to fostering a community that embraces diversity - in ideas, backgrounds and perspectives; this is reflected in our work and represented in our people.

Position Summary:

A Postdoctoral Fellow position is available in the laboratory of Dr. Heather McGee, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Radiation Oncology and Immuno-oncology in the Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope. Dr. McGee is looking for a post-doctoral fellow who is eager to be challenged scientifically, hone his/her critical thinking skills and test new hypotheses in creative ways. The post-doctoral researcher must have a background in tumor immunology and/or radiation biology or have an interest in learning about these fields. Experience with murine tumor models and multicolor flow cytometry is essential.

The long-term scientific goals of the McGee lab are to identify key molecular and immunologic pathways that can be targeted to enhance the immune response to radiation and develop personalized medicine approaches for cancer patients treated with radiation. Current research in the McGee lab spans the entire spectrum from cell culture experiments, to in vivo experiments with transgenic mouse models and knock-in reporter mice, to mulitplex imaging with patient samples. The post-doctoral fellow will utilize techniques including murine irradiation, multicolor flow cytometry, multi-plex immunofluorescence, microscopy, and single cell RNA sequencing to dissect biologic mechanisms activated by radiation that influence the local immune response in various tumor microenvironments. The post-doctoral fellow will play a leading role in NIH-funded research and have the opportunity to be first author on multiple presentations and publications that stem from this work. This is a great opportunity for the post-doctoral fellow because the McGee lab already has exciting preliminary data and is looking for a senior scientist to help complete the final experiments needed for publication.

Dr. McGee emphasizes mentorship and meets regularly one-on-one with all members of the lab to ensure that they feel like valued members of the team. Dr. McGee is eager to mentor post-doctoral fellows of all backgrounds who want to develop a productive career in academic medicine/ science and she is committed to providing career opportunities (i.e. conference presentations, career development awards) to help the post-doctoral fellow achieve his or her career goals.

In addition, if the candidate has computational experience or is interested in learning about computational techniques for immuno-oncology, the candidate could be considered for a joint post-doctoral fellow position with Dr. McGee in collaboration with Dr. Russell Rockne, Associate Professor in the Department of Computational and Quantitative Medicine in Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope.

Dr. McGee is building a dedicated, creative, collaborative, interdisciplinary team of scientists and hopes that you are interested in joining her team!

Basic education, experience and skills required for consideration:

• A Ph.D. degree in immunology, cancer biology or a related discipline is required with at least 1 first author publication.
• Experience in cellular immunology and/or tumor immunology.
• Proficiency with murine tumor models and multicolor flow cytometry.
• A desire to work in a collaborative, interdisciplinary lab environment that values creativity, initiative, hard work, professionalism, and teamwork.

Additional Information:

• Dr. McGee’s research is supported by an NIH R00 grant from the National Cancer Institute, the City of Hope Chancellor’s Award, and a generous start-up package from City of Hope.
• Research findings from Dr. McGee and colleagues have been published in Nature, Nature Communications, Cancer Immunology Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Journal of Immunology, Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer, International Journal of Radiation Oncology* Biology* and Physics, and other journals.
• As a condition of employment, City of Hope requires staff to comply with all state and federal vaccination mandates.

City of Hope is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

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