Join Our Lab
We're looking for talented trainees at all levels to join us in our research. If interested in a postdoctoral fellowship, graduate school research, pre-med or post-bac research assistant opportunity please contact Pawel K. Mazur: PKMazur@MDAnderson.org
The postdoctoral and graduate research will be performed in a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative environment with world-class experts and state-of-the-art technologies and facilities, which provide unique and ideal career development opportunities. Using integrative experimental approaches, we seek to understand the fundamental mechanisms underlying cancer development, drug resistance and immunity. The candidates will be expected to develop and execute independent research plans that lead to peer-reviewed publications, to work cooperatively within an interdisciplinary group of research personnel and to demonstrate excellent oral and written communication skills.
MD Anderson Cancer Center is ranked number one in the nation for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report and also number one in the number of awarded grants from National Cancer Institute. It offers excellent cancer research training programs and unmatched scientific environment of the world’s largest biomedical center.
Mazur Laboratory Members
Postdoctoral Fellow positions
The Mazur Lab is seeking strong candidates for three high-impact, cross-disciplinary research projects within the pancreatic and lung cancer research program. Current projects are supported by several multi-year grants (NIH R01s, DoD, AACR, LCRF, NTRF, Sabin Foundation) and Moonshot program focused on the development of novel targeted and immuno-therapeutics. Please send your application to Dr. Mazur at: PKMazur@MDAnderson.org. Applications should include a CV, short description of research interests, as well as names and contact information for three references.
Resistance mechanisms to targeted therapies - biochemistry of novel and “orphan” enzymes
The candidate will determine the functions and mechanisms of action of novel enzymes (focusing on protein kinases and methyltransferases) in pancreas and lung tumorigenesis. Using CRISPR/Cas9 genetics screening we identified novel and “orphan” enzymes important in driving cancer progression and drug resistance. The Postdoctoral Fellow will utilize unique mouse strains that we have generated, cutting-edge proteomics, gene-editing and biochemical technologies, and the collaborative effort of our research groups (project performed in collaboration with the Gozani Lab at Stanford University world class expert in proteomics and enzyme biology) to identify enzymatic activities and their function in cancer therapy ( Cell, 2019, Nature, 2014 and Genes and Development 2016). If warranted the prospective Postdoctoral Fellow will work with our collaborators at the Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS) to generate inhibitors targeting the identified enzymes for therapeutic intervention and test the compound using our established pre-clinical platform (Nature Medicine, 2015).
Developing new mouse models of human cancers
Our lab has extensive expertise in developing genetically engineered mouse models (GEMM) of human cancers. We are also using genetically defined mouse models of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAC), lung squamous cell cancer (LUSC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC), pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNET) and stomach/gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC). To analyze tumor maintenance (versus initiation) and to assess the potential of the gene of interest as a therapeutic drug target, we generated a mouse model that allows for the deletion of the gene of interest in already established tumors (“two-step model“). Briefly, we utilize FlpO/Frt recombinase system in mice to imitate tumorigenesis and CreER/LoxP recombinase system to ablate or overexpress gene of interest in already developed cancer. We are developing the “two-step model“ for several human cancers including lung adenocarcinoma and squamous lung carcinoma. The models are used as a pre-clinical platform to test novel targeted and immunotherapies in combination with novel therapeutic targets as well as to analyzed genes involved in driving resistance to therapy. The project takes advantage of the “mouse clinic” approach utilizing pre-clinical mouse models integrated with MRI T2 real time tumor monitoring, as well as PDX and organoid tumor models established in Mazur lab (Nature Medicine, 2015, Cell, 2019).
Genetics and pharmacogenomics (multiplex CRISPR/Cas9 animal models of cancer)
The candidate will integrate CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome engineering with conventional genetically-engineered alleles in mouse models of human lung and pancreatic cancers to create a high-throughput experimental pipeline to interrogate wide spectrums of tumor genotypes. Quantitative assessment of genotype-specific tumor responses to a panel of targeted therapies will generate a pharmacogenomic map that will guide patient treatment. The project is based on our recently published method for in vivo CRIPSR-mediated somatic-engineering in mice developed in collaboration with Tyler Jacks’ Lab at MIT (Nature Medicine, 2015). This method enables new comprehensive ways to combine mouse models and next-generation sequencing approaches to identify the dynamic interplay between specific tumor genotypes and the response to therapy. The project takes advantage of the “mouse clinic” approach utilizing pre-clinical mouse models integrated with MRI T2 real time tumor monitoring, as well as PDX and organoid tumor models established in Mazur lab (Nature Medicine, 2015).
Adoptive immunotherapy (CAR T cell-based therapy)
The candidate will work on basic and translational tumor immunology with a focus on T cell biology and adoptive immunotherapy. The Mazur lab generated chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) constructs with reactivity to targets expressed on pancreatic as well as multiple lung cancer models. The postdoctoral fellow will lead the research to identify critical factors that enhance CAR T cells' expansion, ability to kill cancer cells, and to withstand immunosuppression as well as prevent exhaustion in the tumor microenvironment. The candidate will utilize advanced molecular biology techniques to create enhancements, including knock down or overexpression of transcription factors regulating memory and exhaustion, chemokine receptors regulating trafficking, and cytokines regulating the function of the CAR T cells and other endogenous immune cells in the tumor. Generated “armored” CAR T cells will be tested using pre-clinical immunocompetent, endogenous mouse cancer models and human tumor samples. Our pre-clinical research platform takes advantage magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for real time tumor monitoring and co-culture organoid tumor models using the IncuCyte® live cell analysis system established in the lab (Nature Medicine, 2013 and Nature Medicine, 2015).
Graduate Student positions
Graduate students interested in rotating in the Mazur lab, please note that we are part of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Rotations (tutorials) in our laboratory include a wide range of topics in cancer biology: animal models of cancer, immunotherapy, biochemistry, bioinformatics and genetics.