Summary

A Postdoctoral Fellowship in nutrition is available in the laboratory of Teresa A. Davis, Ph.D. at the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center (CNRC) at Baylor College of Medicine. The CNRC is an internationally recognized leader in pediatric nutrition and is located in a state-of-the art research facility in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, TX. Our laboratory studies the role of nutrition in the regulation of muscle growth with the overall goal of developing nutritional strategies to guide the feeding of low birth weight infants and young pigs to promote muscle growth.

The position offers the opportunity to gain technical experience in tissue and whole body protein turnover using stable- and radio-isotope methodology, pancreatic-substrate clamps, energy balance and body composition assessment, muscle morphometry, cell proliferation, nutrient signaling, and molecular biology laboratory techniques. The Postdoctoral Fellow will participate in the CNRC Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program designed to promote the career development of the CNRC Fellows.

Job Duties

• Identifies the mechanisms by which nutrients regulate protein synthesis and degradation in the neonate.
• Discovers the signaling components in the nutrient and growth factor signaling pathways that regulate the developmental changes in protein synthesis and degradation.
• Determines the intracellular mechanisms by which leucine and arginine are sensed by neonatal muscle in vivo and impacts protein synthesis and lean growth.
• Identifies the mechanisms by which low birth weight and prematurity alters skeletal muscle growth.
• Develops dietary interventions to promote lean growth and mitigate fat accretion in the at-risk neonate.
• Uses preterm and term neonatal pigs as translational models.

Minimum Qualifications

• MD or Ph.D. in Basic Science, Health Science, or a related field.
• No experience required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D., M.D., or D.V.M. degree and experience in nutrition or metabolism and animal studies with demonstrated analytical skills.
• Experience with animal surgery and molecular biology techniques is desirable.
• Per grant funding requirements for this position, only U.S. citizens, Permanent residents, and authorized to work in the U.S. can be hired into this position.