Postdoc Position - Cancer Biology

Postdoc Position – Cancer Biology

The Chen lab at the Department of Cancer Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, is seeking a self-motivated postdoc fellow to join our team. The ideal applicants should receive a doctoral degree (PhD or MD/PhD) recently or will receive doctoral degree soon. Experience in cancer biology, tumor immunology, cancer genetics/epigenetics, and bioinformatics is preferred. Preference will be given to candidates with first-author publications in peer-reviewed journals. Interested applicants please send your curriculum vitae, cover letter, and names and contact information of three references to Dr. Chen at [email protected]

About the PI and the lab

The PI of the lab is Dr. Peiwen Chen, who received PhD degree from University of Padova, Italy, in 2015 and finished his postdoc training at MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2020. Dr. Chen joined the Department of Cancer Biology, Cleveland Clinic, as an Associate Professor in July 2024 from Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, where he was a tenure-track Assistant Professor since October 2020. Dr. Chen’s laboratory at Cleveland Clinic studies the molecular and biological processes governing the development of primary (e.g., glioblastoma) and metastatic (brain metastatic breast cancer) brain cancers and aims to develop novel therapeutic strategies for patients with these diseases. Specifically, Dr. Chen’s lab focuses on: 1_) characterizing the molecular mechanisms governing the symbiotic interactions between cancer cells/cancer stem cells and immune cells (including myeloid cells and T cells) in brain cancers; and 2) developing therapeutic approaches to target the tumor-immune symbiosis, and testing whether targeting the symbiosis can improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy in brain cancers; and 3_) developing/using novel platforms to identify therapeutic targets in brain tumors under specific genetic backgrounds. The ongoing projects in the lab are supported by a number of highly competitive grants, which include, but not limited to, two NIH R01 awards (2022-2027 and 2023-2028) and DoD award (2021-2025). For more information, please refer to following recent publications and our labpage:

The scientific papers from the lab (with the PI as the corresponding author) include:

• Zhou F, Pang L, Liu Y, Khan F and Chen P (2026) Symbiotic exclusivity between CLOCK and TFPI2 drives stemness and immunosuppression in glioblastoma models. J Clin Invest (in press) 10.1172/JCI199056
• Khan K, Petrosyan E, Liu Y, Bahrami A, Taefi E, Geula C, Lesniak MS and Chen P# (2026) Microglial TBK1 signaling promotes breast cancer brain metastasis. Cancer Research doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-25-1791.
• Khan K, Liu Y, Whitfield D, Pang L, Ali H, Huang Y, Zhou F, Hagan RS, Frenis K, Rowe RG and Chen P# (2025) Macrophage TBK1 signaling drives the development and outgrowth of breast cancer brain metastasis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 122(34):e2420793122.
• Ali H, Khan F, Xuan W, Liu Y, Huang Y, Whitfield D, Pang L, and Chen P# (2025) Neuropeptide adrenomedullin remodels stemness and macrophage dynamics in glioblastoma. Cell Reports 44(10):116342. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.116342.
• Pang L, Guo S, Huang Y, Khan F, Liu Y, Zhou F, Lathia JD, and Chen P # (2025) Targeting legumain-mediated cell-cell interaction sensitizes glioblastoma to immunotherapy in preclinical models. Journal of Clinical Investigation doi:10.1172/JCI186034.
• Liu Y*, Pang L*, Khan F*, Wu J, Zhou F, Horbinski C, Bao S, Yu JS, Lathia JD, Chen P# (2025) Glycoprotein-NMB mediates bi-directional GSC-TAM interactions to promote tumor progression. JCI Insight 10(13):e187684.
• Khan F, Lin Y, Ali H, Pang L, Dunterman M, Hsu WH, Frenis K, Rowe RG, Wainwright DA, McCortney K, Horbinski C, Lesniak MS and Chen P# (2024) LDHA-regulated tumor-macrophage symbiosis promotes glioblastoma progression. Nature Communications 15(1):1987. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46193-z.
• Liu Y, Wu J, Najem H, Lin Y, Pang L, Khan F, Zhou F, Ali H, Heimberger AB and Chen P# (2024) Dual targeting macrophages and microglia is a therapeutic vulnerability in models of PTEN-deficient glioblastoma. Journal of Clinical Investigation 134(22):e178628. doi: 10.1172/JCI178628.
• Pang L*, Dunterman M*, Guo S, Khan F, Liu Y, Taefi E, Bahrami A, Geula C, Hsu WH, Horbinski C, James CD and Chen P# (2023) Kunitz-type protease inhibitor TFPI2 remodels stemness and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in glioblastoma. Nature Immunology 24(10):1654-1670. (Cover article).
• Pang L*, Guo S*, Khan F*, Dunterman M, Ali H, Liu Y, Huang Y and Chen P# (2023) Hypoxia-driven protease legumain promotes immunosuppression in glioblastoma. Cell Reports Medicine 4(11):101238. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101238.
• Pang L*, Dunterman M*, Xuan W, Gonzalez A, Lin Y, Hsu WH, Khan F, Hagan RS, Muller WA, Heimberger AB and Chen P# (2023) Circadian Regulator CLOCK Promotes Tumor Angiogenesis in Glioblastoma. Cell Reports 42 (2), 112127.
• Xuan W, Hsu WH, Khan F, Dunterman M, Pang L, Wainwright DA, Ahmed AU, Heimberger AB, Lesniak MS and Chen P# (2022) Circadian Regulator CLOCK Drives Immunosuppression in GBM. Cancer Immunology Research 10(6):770-784.

About Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic ranks one of two best hospitals in the World for Sixth Consecutive Year by the Newsweek, and in the United States by the U.S. News & World Report. Cleveland Clinic Research is home to laboratory-based research at Cleveland Clinic. Scientists at Cleveland Clinic have unrivaled access to cancer patient samples and data, which play a significant role in answering fundamental biological questions and performing translational research.

Compensation and benefits

Postdoctoral salary adheres to NIH standards and is commensurate with prior research experience. Additionally, the Cleveland Clinic offers excellent insurance and benefits.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: From $63,480.00 per year

Benefits:

• Health insurance

Work Location: In person