News announcement

Positions for postdocs, graduate students, and visiting scholars are available in the laboratory of Dr. Rongze Olivia Lu for work on projects to study mechanism of immunosuppression in tumor environment and immune resistance to current immunotherapies including immune checkpoint blockades and cell therapies. Lu is a tenure track assistant professor in the department of neurosurgery at University of Texas Austin (top 10 public school in the US). Lu’s previous research has identified that protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) regulates immune suppression in T cells in multiple tumor models including brain tumor. Based on those findings, a Phase Ib/II trial is being planned by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study combining PP2A and PD-1 inhibitors to treat brain tumor.

Lu received her doctorate in cancer immunology from Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope, an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. She then pursued postdoctorate studies at Genentech under the mentorship of Lasker Award Laureate Napoleone Ferrara, M.D. Lu’s postdoc research focused on the role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in tumor angiogenesis and resistance to anti-VEGF therapy. After her postdoc training, she joined Medimmune/AstraZeneca and later on AbbVie to lead multiple drug discovery programs for inflammatory diseases and cancer. Lu has published in high-profile journals including Nature, Nature Communications, Plos Pathogens, Cancer Research and Journal of Biological Chemistry. Lu served as section editor of immunotherapy for Journal of Translational Medicine from 2017 to 2018 and session chair for a cancer immune responsiveness workshop organized by Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer in 2018 and 2019.

Lu receives prestigious career development grant from department of defense. Her lab is well funded from department of defense, state of Texas and expects a new NIH RO1 with an outstanding score.

Lu also collaborates with Winson Ho M.D.  an assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and a pediatric neurosurgeon. Ho received B.S. and M.D from Yale university and graduated from the joint neurosurgery residency program of the University of Virginia and the National Institutes of Health, where he served as a clinical and research fellow at the NINDS Surgical Neurology Branch. Ho has received prestigious (2-3/year nationally) Neurosurgeon Research Career Development Program (NRCDP) award.

The successful candidates for the postdoctoral positions will have a doctoral degree (Ph.D. or M.D.) in a relevant background in biological/biomedical sciences, as well as a preferred track record of productivity in authoring peer-reviewed publications. The candidates for graduate students should have a background in Biology or Biomedical Sciences. Salary and fringe benefits for the positions will be supported by Dr. Lu’s startup package and federal grants, and commensurate with experience, expertise, and the University guidelines.

The selected candidates will have the opportunities to employ molecular biology, biochemistry, immunology and animal models in cancer research, Austin is one of the most livable cities in the United States.

How to apply

Send CV and reference contacts to Rongze.lu@austin.UTexas.edu