Our group offers excellent opportunities for young students/postdocs to gain solid training in cell and molecular biology through work in the areas of epithelial stem cells, urothelial growth regulation and differentiation, and membrane structure and function – utilizing a wide range of cell and molecular biologic techniques. Unique features of our Group include:

A.     An exciting field that is still in its infancy. Urothelium covers much of the urinary tract from renal pelvis, ureters, bladder to proximal urethra. It provides an exceptionally effective permeability barrier, and it plays a key role in bladder cancer and urinary tract infection. The apical surface of the urothelium is covered by numerous 16-nm particles that form 2D crystals called “urothelial plaques”. We have identified a group of membrane proteins, the uroplakins, as the main subunits of urothelial plaques. A major focus of our group is to understand the structure and function of uroplakins and their involvements in human diseases.

B.     Opportunities to interact with 5 Principal Investigators with diverse expertise. The 5 faculty members are: Gert Kreibich (Prof Cell Biol; membrane protein biogenesis and targeting), Angel Pellicer (Prof Pathol; oncogenes and bladder tumorigenesis); Xiangpeng Kong (Assoc Prof Biochem; structure of urothelial membranes); Xue-Ru Wu (Assoc Prof Microbiol & Urol; transgenic models of bladder tumorigenesis; urinary tract infection); and Tung-Tien Sun (Rudolf L Baer Prof Dermatol, Prof Pharmacol & Urology; urothelial differentiation and membrane biogenesis; epithelial stem cells).

C.     Training in Scientific Methods. Students/postdocs receive formal training in scientific methods by taking a course given by Dr. Sun which covers topics including experimental design (how to get any experimental techniques to work; see Nature Rev Mol Biol July 2003), how to critically analyze a scientific paper and generate ideas via effective note taking, how to write a paper, how to give an oral presentation, and scientific integrity.

D.     Application. If you would like to know more about us or apply for a position in our group, please visit our website (www.med.nyu.edu/sun/) or contact Dr. Sun at sunt01@med.nyu.edu