Funding is available for a highly motivated postdoctoral fellow to join an NIH R01–funded research program investigating bitter taste receptor (T2R) signaling in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). This work focuses on understanding how G protein–coupled receptor signaling shapes macrophage behavior within the tumor microenvironment and how these pathways can be leveraged to promote anti-tumor immunity.



Oral squamous cell carcinoma remains a highly lethal disease, with clinical outcomes strongly influenced by immune composition and macrophage phenotype within the tumor microenvironment. Tumor-associated macrophages play a central role in regulating tumor progression, immune suppression, and response to therapy, yet many of the signaling pathways governing macrophage–tumor interactions remain poorly understood. Our laboratory has identified bitter taste receptors as previously unrecognized immune signaling receptors expressed on...