Job Description
Principal Investigator Dr. Volkan Ergin is seeking a Postdoctoral Fellow to join the Ergin Lab in the Department of Otolaryngology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Effective gene therapies require both efficient delivery vehicles and well-designed therapeutic cargos. The Ergin Lab addresses these challenges by engineering next-generation AAV vectors for targeted gene delivery to cochlear cell populations and developing innovative genetic cargo designs for inherited and acquired forms of hearing loss.
A substantial portion of this role involves hands-on animal research, including mouse models of acquired hearing loss, cochlear microsurgery, therapeutic delivery, and auditory functional testing. The position offers a unique opportunity to gain expertise across multiple disciplines, spanning gene therapy, synthetic biology, high-throughput screenings, and translational therapeutic development.
Dr. Ergin brings experience from both academia and industry, providing valuable mentorship for trainees interested in academic careers, industry positions, or entrepreneurial ventures. Postdoctoral fellows will be encouraged to pursue independent funding opportunities, including NIH K99/R00 awards and other career development mechanisms.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
Qualifications
Interested candidates should submit:
CV
A cover letter describing previous research experience, particularly in inner ear research, and outlining long-term career goals
Cedars Sinai is one of the largest nonprofit academic medical centers in the United States, and it is the largest private academic medical center in the Western United States. The Cedars Sinai main campus, which encompasses nearly 24 acres, is located at the point where the cities of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood meet. Cedars Sinai has been recognized annually by U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 best hospitals in the U.S. The institution most recently placed No. 7 among a select group of 20 Honor Roll hospitals and ranked nationally in a dozen specialties. In addition, Cedars Sinai ranked No. 3 in California and No. 2 in the Los Angeles metro area.
Within Cedars Sinai, the Institute for Research on Health Aging conducts multi-disciplinary research that prioritizes the prevention of cardiovascular disease, neurocognitive disease, and cancer. Our focus is on translating new research discoveries into pragmatic interventions aimed at promoting healthy aging across diverse populations. Our approach involves human physiology, cohort, and clinical trial studies and our team includes established experts in population, clinical, translational, basic, and data science.