Join the Rajan Lab- Post Doc fellowship applicants welcome for 2027!

How does the body turn a local disturbance — an infection, a surplus of nutrients, a stressed organ — into a coordinated, whole-organism response? The Rajan Lab asks how cells sense, encode, and communicate metabolic and immune stress between organs. Working in adult Drosophila as a discovery engine, with validation in mammalian systems, we have found that cells repurpose conserved molecular machinery in unexpected ways and move signals between distant tissues — opening fresh territory in cell biology and neurobiology.

We’re a small, highly collaborative team tackling how inter-organ communication shapes physiology and brain health—especially fat-to-brain signals that influence innate immunity, cognition, hunger, and brain senescence/aging. We work primarily in Drosophila with growing mammalian extensions, combining genetics, advanced imaging, physiology, and -omics. We value curiosity, rigor, and kindness. If you’re excited to build new biology at the interface of metabolism, innate immunity and the brain, we’d love to hear from you.

We are looking for Postdoctoral Fellows – who drive independent, high-impact projects with close mentorship from Akhila and clear pathways to fellowships and future independence. You will anchor in an established, funded project and are expected — and actively supported — to build an independent niche from it.

Research areas

Our portfolio spans several actively growing areas. You can enter through any of them:

•      Atg8 spatiophysiology. How the conserved Atg8/LC3–GABARAP machinery is redeployed beyond autophagy — through lipidation, LIR/LDS partner docking, and membrane remodeling — to encode and externalize a cell’s stress state. A fellow in this area could focus on either its chromatin biology or extracellular cargo trafficking arm.

•      Brain senescence & adipo-glial communication. How adipocyte-derived signals govern glial phagocytosis (Draper/MEGF10), JNK/AP-1–driven senescence, lipid-droplet accumulation, and brain aging.

•      Inter-organ mitochondrial signaling. How mitochondrial components and cellular oxidative-phosphorylation state are mobilized to coordinate physiology between organs.

•      Lipoprotein & lipid biology. How ApoB lipoproteins and adipocyte lipid state act as inter-organ signals in metabolism and neuroprotection.

•      Behavior & cognition. How these molecular signals shape Drosophila feeding and cognition (learning and memory) as the physiological output of metabolic and immune stress.

Who we are looking for

We especially welcome candidates with demonstrated strength in one or more of the following. You do not need all of them — depth in one, and enthusiasm for the rest, is ideal:

•      Biochemistry, particularly the Atg8/ubiquitin-like protein and autophagy field, or the biochemistry of chromatin biology

•      Mitochondrial biology

•      Lipoprotein / lipid biology

•      Drosophila behavior (feeding or cognition — learning and memory)

Build your own niche — and launch your lab

Our funded projects are launch pads, not boxes. From day one you will be encouraged to develop your own questions, own a defined direction, and carry it toward your independent career. The goal is field-shaping, high-impact work in cell biology or neurobiology.

Mentoring here is oriented around your success as a future PI. Rajan Lab postdocs have won prestigious fellowships — including the Helen Hay Whitney and NSF Postdoctoral fellowships — and moved on to independent research careers. We invest in fellowship applications, first-author and collaborative publications, conference visibility, and the transition to independence.

Environment

The Rajan Lab sits within the Basic Sciences Division at Fred Hutch — a world-class basic-research community that is home to many internationally renowned scientists across cell biology, genetics, developmental biology, biochemistry, and computational biology. This is a rare concentration of fundamental-discovery expertise, and its culture is deeply collaborative.

A defining feature of the environment is the opportunity to build projects across labs: fellows are encouraged to forge collaborations with neighboring groups, co-develop questions that span disciplines, and draw on shared, cutting-edge resources — outstanding genomics, imaging, proteomics, flow cytometry, and computational cores. Fred Hutch hosts more than 200 postdoctoral fellows on a vibrant Seattle campus, offering a supportive community and rich professional-development and career-transition programs.

Learn more about the lab: akhilalab.org

Qualifications

•      This position is for scientists completing their PhD or very recently graduated. We do not consider applicants who have already begun a postdoc — candidates must be fresh out of graduate school and remain eligible for major postdoctoral fellowships, which generally require applying within ~12 months of the PhD.

•      A PhD (recent, or expected within ~6 months) in cell biology, neurobiology, biochemistry, genetics, or a related field

•      A strong foundation in molecular and cell biology

•      Background in one of the focus areas above; familiarity with Drosophila genetics and/or mammalian cell culture is desirable

•      A creative, independent thinker who also thrives as part of a collaborative team

•      Excellent written and verbal communication skills

How to apply

Please send: (1) a cover letter describing your previous research, your future research interests, and your career goals; (2) a CV; and (3) contact information for three references. Email your application to akhila@fredhutch.org with the subject line “Postdoc Application — [Your Name].”

Start date: January 2027 or later. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Compensation follows the NIH scale, with support for external fellowship applications strongly encouraged.

The Rajan Lab and Fred Hutch are committed to building a diverse, inclusive research community and welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds.