Postdoctoral researcher (M/F)

id="offer-description" class="ecl-u-type-heading-2 ecl-u-mt-none ecl-u-mb-l">Offer Description A 12-month postdoctoral position is currently available for a collaborative project (co-PI: Prof. Aimin XU, The University of Hong Kong, China), focusing on the role of TMEM33 in macrophages during fatty liver disease. Candidates should have a particular interest in understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying metabolism, liver physiology, and associated diseases. A strong background in lipid biology, immunology, and mouse experimentation is required. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD/MASLD) is a major cause of morbidity, characterized by chronic liver inflammation and end-stage fibrosis. Apart from improvement through lifestyle changes, there is currently no pharmacological treatment available besides recently approved Resmetirom and Semaglutide. Our preliminary data reveal that mice with constitutive genetic deletion of TMEM33 are resistant to obesity-induced dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis, inflammation, and liver injury. In addition, our preliminary findings indicate that hepatic TMEM33 expression is correlated with MASLD in obese patients. Therefore, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein TMEM33 is considered as a novel and important player involved in the onset and/or progression of MASLD. In this project, we will assess the impact of hepatocyte-specific TMEM33 knockout (KO) on disease progression using mouse models subjected to various diets that indu