Post-doctoral Position Available in Immunosenescence (position filled April 30,2010)

Have you ever wondered how we age?

Would you like to build your career exploring the immunology of aging?

An immediate post-doctoral opportunity is available for a creative scientist with a strong commitment to excellence and innovation in science to pursue leading edge research in human immunology. The position is in the Department of Pathology & Molecular Medicine at McMaster University located in the heart of the Golden Horseshoe in southern Ontario.  McMaster University has been ranked as one of Canada’s most research intensive universities known for it’s highly collaborative and mentoring atmosphere.

The research area focuses on understanding the immune changes associated with aging, with a particular emphasis on the role of immunosenescence on the ability of human monocytes and macrophages to respond to Streptococcus pneumoniae. In conjunction to these studies methodological work on identified biomarkers will be carried out and tested using samples from clinical outcome studies.

This position also provides the opportunity to engage in Canada’s largest cohort study on aging. The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) (www.clsa-elcv.ca) is a national longitudinal study of adult development and aging that will follow 50,000 Canadians between the ages of 45 and 85 years at baseline over a 20-year period. Data will be collected every 3 years through interviews and 30,000 participants will also have a clinical assessment and collection of biological samples creating a national biobank and research platform.

Two enthusiastic researchers, Drs. Cynthia Balion and Dawn Bowdish, will supervise this position. In addition, the post-doctoral fellow will work with experts spanning the research continuum from discovery, to epidemiology, and translational science.

Interested candidates should send a CV, cover letter and three references to Dr. Dawn Bowdish (bowdish@mcmaster.ca, www.bowdish.ca).