Identification and characterization of malignant melanoma cancer stem cells in the blood of melanoma patients.
The highly qualified postdoctoral fellow will develop an assay to identify and distinguish circulating melanoma cells (CMCs) from the millions of normal cells already present in the blood. This project will be a collaboration between Dr. Peter Kuhn and Dr. Jeanne Loring at Scripps Research, and Dr. Kelly Bethel at Scripps Clinic, who are well-established investigators in rare cell biology, stem cell biology, and hematopathology . The assay will be adapted from an already established circulating tumor cell assay the Kuhn laboratory uses to identify tumor cells in the blood of patients with epithelial cancers. This person will have completed a Ph.D. or MD/PhD on a related topic and preferably a year of postdoctoral research, experience with immunofluorescence staining assays, fluorescent microscopy, fluorescence in-situ hybridization, and mammalian cell culture. Experience with stem cells is also highly desirable. Please see http://cancer.scripps.edu for more information.