New Postdoc Program in Nanotech for Cancer
Med
INBT fellowship designed to ensure diverse, highly trained
workforce
By Mary Spiro Institute for
NanoBioTechnology
The Institute for
NanoBioTechnology has launched a postdoctoral
fellowship in nanotechnology
for cancer medicine, or NTCM. The goal of this new
postdoctoral training program, funded by the
National Cancer Institute, is to ensure that a diverse and
highly trained workforce is available to
assume leadership roles in biomedical, behavioral and
clinical research. This is the first T32 grant
awarded in the
Whiting School of Engineering. Applications are now
being accepted for this one-of-a-kind program, which will
allow two new postdoctoral fellows to enter the program
each year.
Denis Wirtz, professor of chemical and
biomolecular engineering in the School of Engineering,
and Kenneth Kinzler, professor of
oncology at the School of Medicine, will co-direct the
program.
Wirtz is associate director of INBT, and Kinzler is a
member of INBT's executive committee.
NTCM postdoctoral fellows will learn new methods for
molecular imaging, develop high-
throughput diagnostic tools and engineer novel drug-,
antibody- or genetically based delivery systems
to treat human cancers, Wirtz said. "They will be laying
the foundations for technologies that will
enable an inside view of cancer cell functions, as opposed
to the limited 'blackbox' input-output
techniques currently used," he said.
The fellows will view interactions between
nanostructures and biological systems in physical,
biological and biomedical terms and will become adept at
emerging concepts in biomolecular
engineering, protein engineering, materials synthesis and
surface modification. They will be able to
take advantage of research and clinical resources at the
Johns Hopkins Hospital, National Cancer
Institute-designated Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer
Center, Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics
and Therapeutics, Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Center and
In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging
Center, as well as the educational resources and
experimental facilities available through INBT.
Each fellow will be supported for two years and will
be co-advised by a faculty member in
oncology or medicine and a faculty member in engineering.
(To view the list of the 20 participating
faculty members, go to
inbt.jhu.edu/postdoc-faculty.php.) Fellows will take a
core lecture
course in either nanotechnology or cancer biology and a
core laboratory course in nanobiotechnology
for cancer medicine and will attend a weekly journal club.
In addition, fellows will participate in an
annual fall retreat and the annual NanoBio Symposium in the
spring. After two six-week rotations in
the laboratories of participating faculty, fellows will
embark on co-advised research in nanotechnology
for cancer medicine.
Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are
eligible to apply for the program. Requirements
for admission include a PhD in an engineering or
biological/oncology discipline or an MD degree. A
concentration in cancer is helpful. Interested applicants
should send their C.V. and two letters of
recommendation to Ashanti Edwards/Professor Denis Wirtz,
Institute for NanoBioTechnology, 214
Maryland Hall, Homewood campus. For more information,
e-mail
postdoc@inbt.jhu.edu.
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