The University of Maryland Baltimore, School of Medicine’s, interdisciplinary Center for Blood Oxygen
Transport & Hemostasis includes a team of physicians, biochemists, and engineers and will help answer
fundamental, challenging questions related to blood function in health and disease.
This fellowship is funded by an NIH post-doctoral training grant and will focus on mechanisms that drive
sickle cell disease (SCD) pulmonary hypertension (PH). Accumulation of pulmonary vascular macrophage
iron is a new and unique finding observed in SCD, suggesting that erythrophagocytosis mediated iron
overload is a pathological driver of progressive pulmonary vascular disease. This is in striking contrast to
idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (iPAH), which is exacerbated by iron depletion states and may
be improved in some cases by iron administration. The study of macrophage processing of sickled red
blood cells, macrophage migration to the pulmonary vasculature and iron driven pulmonary vascular
remodeling will be the primary focus of this post-doctoral fellowship. Secondarily, mechanisms such as
inflammation and complement activation will also be studied as processes that exacerbate PH. Both
murine models and patient samples will be studies to define proof-of-concept for experimental
therapeutics that slow the progression of pulmonary vascular complications in SCD.
The fellow will assist in research studies to advance knowledge in a training-based setting under the
direction of Dr. Paul Buehler, a federally funded pharmacologist and toxicologist with specialization in
hematotoxicology. The position requires an ability to carry out general laboratory techniques (e.g.,
spectrophotometry, ELISAs, Western blotting, flow cytometry, histopathology, and microscopy). Evaluation
of RBC deformability, oxygen equilibrium, preparation for microscopy (light and EM), capability to assess
RBC morphological changes consistent with disease states will be taught. Further, a knowledge and/or
desire to expand expertise in techniques that evaluate tissue oxygenation and perfusion (e.g., MRI, EPR,
PET, Phosphorescence Quenching, Laser Doppler Flowmetry) is critical to this position’s goals.
Minimum Education: Recent graduate applicants with a PhD or applicants that are expected to graduate
from a Bioengineering, Physiology, or related discipline PhD program and are required to be a green card
holder or US citizen. The candidate will be expected to possess strong communication and independent
writing skills.
Interested candidates should email their CV and Research Statement to PBuehler@som.umaryland.edu.
Salary – In accordance with NIH guidelines (NIH 0–3-year experience level)