美国国立卫生研究院生物物理学博士后岗位

Institution:

Division of Intramural Research
National Eye Institute
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

Position:

post-doctoral fellows from the biological and physical sciences

Job Description:

The National Eye Institute (NEI) was established by Congress in 1968 to protect and prolong the vision of the American people. Impaired vision and blindness is a world-wide health burden and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 160 million people are visually disabled. Blindness represents a public health, social, and economic problem, especially for developing countries, where the vast majority of the world's blind population live. The largest proportion of blindness is related to aging. Approximately 50% of the world's blind suffer from cataract. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness, followed by age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Approximately 120 scientists (senior investigators, postdoctoral fellows and other scientific staff ) in the NEI Division of Intramural Research (DIR) are carrying out basic and clinical research in a variety of disciplines including genetics, cell, molecular, and developmental biology, neuroscience, immunology, epidemiology and clinical trials to develop therapeutic interventions for the prevention and treatment of diseases of the visual system. NEI intramural researchers have established collaborations with their colleagues throughout the world. Clinical and basic science collaborations are now in progress with investigators in China, India, Pakistan, and many other countries. To provide state-of-the-art technology for its scientists, the NEI DIR maintains core facilities that include histology/pathology, live cell imaging, flow cytometry analysis of tissues and cells, a genetic engineering core for producing a wide variety of animal models of disease and the NEI Bank, which provides expression and sequence data for animal and human eye tissues (http://neibank.nei.nih.gov).

To date, genes have been identified for over 2,000 Mendelian conditions, and more than 400 genes that cause or contribute to eye diseases have been cloned or mapped. Approximately 140 inherited retinal degenerative disease genes have been cloned and disease-causing mutations identified. Gene-based therapies are on the horizon to alleviate or circumvent errors caused by genetic mutations. For example, in 1993, a gene responsible for one of the forms of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a severe childhood retinal degeneration, was cloned by NEI intramural scientists. By 1998, a knockout mouse was generated in which the role of the RPE65 gene in Vitamin A metabolism was established. In 2001, NEI supported researchers showed that gene transfer therapy of RPE65 restored vision in a large animal model of the disease. In less than 15 years, the discovery of the RPE65 gene has led to initiating Phase 1 human gene therapy trials to correct this defect.

The NEI's National Ophthalmic Disease Genotyping Network (eyeGENETM) provides a research repository of DNA/tissue coupled to anonymous phenotypic information for discovery research and allows clinicians unprecedented access to DNA diagnostic laboratories. It is anticipated that the eyeGENETM program will drive genetic research and become the repository of information that allows individuals to benefit from advances in genomic medicine (http://www.nei.nih.gov/resources/eyegene.asp).

The NEI Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Research is conducting clinical trials concerned with the prevention of eye disease and vision disorders. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study 1 (AREDS1) was designed to evaluate the role of antioxidant vitamins and zinc for preventing the development of advanced AMD. The AREDS formulation reduced the risk of developing vision-threatening advanced AMD by approximately 25%. A genetic breakthrough for understanding AMD occurred recently when a common coding variant in the complement factor H (CFH) gene was identified in the blood samples from the AREDS patients and shown to account for nearly 40% of the genetic risk for AMD.

Both in its extramural Roadmap initiatives and intramurally, the NIH is emphasizing the role of multidisciplinary science. The Neuroscience Blueprint involves the creation of a toolkit of scientific resources that neuroscientists can use to advance their research (http://www.neuroscienceblueprint.nih.gov). At NEI, the Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research is an acknowledged world leader in systems neuroscience and has contributed to this effort by making fundamental observations on the brain mechanisms responsible for vision and eye movement.

The NEI is recruiting dedicated post-doctoral fellows from the biological and physical sciences to join a core of investigators focused on understanding the complexities of the visual system. The NEI is also establishing cooperative research training mechanisms with leading overseas graduate programs (NEI Overseas Scholars Program). The intent is to identify exceptionally talented individuals with clear promise of developing high impact, independent research careers in their country of origin. They will spend two to four years of post-doctoral training in NEI intramural laboratories and become eligible to apply for an NIH grant (http://www.nei.nih.gov/intramural/careers/grantsandfellowships.asp#3) that provides up to five years of support in their home institution.

In summary, the NEI DIR is dedicated to (1) establishing new basic and clinical research opportunities in genetics, retinal neurodegenerative disease, and neuroscience (2) emphasizing multidisciplinary and translational research (3) leveraging resources through trans-NIH initiatives (4) creating global scientific partnerships and (5) providing exceptional training opportunities.

Contact:

Sheldon S. Miller, Scientific Director

Sarah Sohraby, Deputy Scientific Director