The laboratory of Daniel DiMaio, M.D., Ph.D., in the Department of Genetics at the Yale School of Medicine is seeking a postdoctoral researcher in molecular virology. Our team studies tumor viruses to determine the mechanistic basis of fundamental biological processes and to develop new strategies to inhibit tumor virus infection and the cancers they cause.

Because viruses are so simple, they are dependent on cellular machinery for all phases of their life cycle. Thus, viruses have historically been valuable tools to study many aspects of biology. Our lab focuses on human papillomaviruses (HPV), which cause approximately 5% of all human cancer. Our prior studies revealed a novel mechanism of growth factor receptor activation by a viral oncoprotein, the first example of oncogene addiction, artificial proteins with unprecedented chemical simplicity, the first clear biological role of cell-penetrating peptides, and evidence that some proteins can act in a manner independent of their amino acid sequence. Our main current focus is the complex process by which HPV enters cells, which we study to discover new principles of cell biology and biochemistry. These studies many also lead to new approaches to inhibit virus infection and cancer formation. The laboratory seeks to hire a highly motivated postdoctoral associate with expertise in virology, molecular and cellular biology, and/or biochemistry. Potential projects include structure-function analysis of HPV proteins involved in virus entry, development of a novel system to propagate infectious HPV pseudoviruses, and mechanistic studies of cellular proteins that are required for virus entry. Major experimental approaches include cell culture, virus propagation and infection, mutant construction and analysis, protein expression and purification, and imaging techniques in cultured cells.

Representative publications:

Heim, E., Marston, J., Federman, R., Edwards, A. B., E., Karabadzhak, A., Petti, L.M., Engelman, D.M., and DiMaio, D.  (2015) Biologically active LIL proteins built with minimal chemical diversity. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, doi:10.1073/pnas.1514230112.

Zhang, P., Monteiro da Silva, G., Deatherage, C., Burd, C., and DiMaio, D. (2018) Cell-penetrating peptide mediates intracellular membrane passage of human papillomavirus L2 protein to trigger retrograde trafficking. Cell, 174: 1465-1476. doi10.1016/j.cell.2018.07.031.

Xie, J., Zhang, P., Crite, M., and DiMaio, D. (2021) Retromer stabilizes membrane insertion of the L2 capsid protein during retrograde HPV entry. Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abh4276. PMID: 34193420

Oh, C., Buckley, P., Choi, J., Herrero, A., and DiMaio, D. (2023) Sequence independent activity of a long disordered segment of the human papillomavirus L2 capsid protein during virus entry. bioRxiv 2023.03.21.533711.

The successful candidate will be self-motivated and eager to learn new techniques and should display a high level of independence and good problem solving and interpersonal skills. They will receive further training on how to conceptualize, design, conduct, and interpret rigorous hypothesis-driven experiments to address important issues in biology. Interested individuals should send an email to daniel.dimaio@yale.edu including a CV, a cover letter with a brief description of research interests and how they align with the lab, and email addresses of two or three referees.