Post-Doctoral Fellowship - Neuronal Regulation of Energy Metabolism

The laboratory of Matthew Poy in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is seeking two post-doctoral fellows for a project on the neuronal regulation of energy metabolism. Projects are based on recent lab publications and are tailored to the background of each candidate. Specific topics include (1) RNAi in neurodegenerative disorders, (2) sympathetic innervation and energy metabolism, and (3) neuro-immune cell interface in diabetes/obesity.

The metabolic syndrome is characterized by obesity, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance and alterations to both insulin and leptin signaling cascades can contribute to a pathogenic state. Previous studies by our group have shown that microRNAs are highly regulated in the pancreatic islets of insulin-resistant mouse models and in the islets of type 2 diabetic human subjects and play a key role in the growth and function of the pancreatic beta cell (Tattikota et al. Cell Metabolism, 2014). Many of the genes targeted by microRNAs in the endocrine pancreas are abundantly expressed in the CNS, suggesting these factors serve in a similar capacity across multiple tissues. In addition, the susceptibility to obesity is linked to genes regulating neurotransmission, pancreatic beta-cell function and energy homeostasis and we recently characterized the role of CADM1 and CADM2 in the regulation of body weight (Rathjen et al. Nature Neuroscience, 2017; Yan et al. Molecular Metabolism, 2018). Future aims are directed towards understanding the role of the microRNA pathway in the CNS in managing systemic energy metabolism and metabolic stress responses as well as elucidating its specific mechanisms of action.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. in a relevant subject (i.e. Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Physiology, or Genetics) and a publication history. Excellent organization and record-keeping skills, a meticulous approach to practical work, the ability to work effectively and flexibly as part of a team, and ability to plan and execute experimental research independently are required. Interested applicants should provide a CV, a cover letter describing career goals, and contact information for at least two referees to: mpoy1@jhmi.edu.

References:

Sona C, Yeh YT, Li Y, Liu X, Ghosh A, Hinte LC, Ku MC, Rathjen T, Niendorf T, Yu G, Jia S, Kononenko NL, Hermann A, Luo J, Lin J, von Meyenn F, Yan X, Poy MN. Glutamatergic argonaute2 promotes the formation of the neurovascular unit in mice. Sci Signal. 2025 Feb 25;18(875):eadl6745. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.adl6745. Epub 2025 Feb 25.

Rathjen T, Yan X, Kononenko NL, Ku MC, Song K, Ferrarese L, Tarallo V, Puchkov D, Kochlamazashvili G, Brachs S, Varela L, Szigeti-Buck K, Yi CX, Schreiver SC, Tattikota SG, Carlo AS, Moroni M, Siemens J, Heuser A, van der Weyden L, Birkenfeld AL, Niendorf T, Poulet JF, Horvath TL, Tschop MH, Heinig M, Trajkovski M, Haucke V, and Poy MN. Regulation of body weight and energy homeostasis by neuronal Cell adhesion molecule 1. Nature Neuroscience. 2017 Aug; 20(8):1096-1103. doi: 10.1038/nn.4590.

Yan X, Wang Z, Schmidt V, Gauert A, Willnow TE, Heinig M, Poy MN. Cadm2 regulates body weight and energy homeostasis in mice. Mol Metabolism. 2018 Feb; 8:180-188. doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2017.11.010.