About Arc Institute

The Arc Institute is a new scientific institution that conducts curiosity-driven basic science and technology development to understand and treat complex human diseases. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Arc is an independent research organization founded on the belief that many important research programs will be enabled by new institutional models. Arc operates in partnership with Stanford University, UCSF, and UC Berkeley.

While the prevailing university research model has yielded many tremendous successes, we believe in the importance of institutional experimentation as a way to make progress. These include:

  • Funding: Arc will fully fund Core Investigator’s (PI’s) research groups, liberating scientists from the typical constraints of project-based external grants.
  • Technology: Biomedical research has become increasingly dependent on complex tooling. Arc Technology Centers develop, optimize and deploy rapidly advancing experimental and computational technologies in collaboration with Core Investigators. 
  • Support: Arc aims to provide first-class support—operationally, financially and scientifically—that will enable scientists to pursue long-term high risk, high reward research that can meaningfully advance progress in disease cures, including neurodegeneration, cancer, and immune dysfunction.
  • Culture: We believe that culture matters enormously in science and that excellence is difficult to sustain. We aim to create a culture that is focused on scientific curiosity, a deep commitment to truth, broad ambition, and selfless collaboration.

Arc scaled to nearly 100 people in its first year. With $650M+ in committed funding and a state of the art new lab facility in Palo Alto, Arc will continue to grow quickly to several hundred in the coming years.

 

About the position

We are looking for a Research Associate II to join the Konermann laboratory (https://arcinstitute.org/labs/konermannlab) at the Arc Institute. You will collaborate closely with experienced scientists in the laboratory and work on  in vitro and in vivo projects aimed at understanding brain development in physiology and disease.

This project builds on high-profile work in genome-scale CRISPR screening (Konermann et al., Nature 2015; Biering et al., Nature Genetics,  2021) and aims at combining modern functional genomics and modern neuroscience tools to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying brain development and function. The ideal candidate will have experience in embryonic stem cell (ESC) culture and molecular biology as well as the motivation to learn and perform in vivo experiments.

This is an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated and curious researcher interested in the application of modern technologies in the field of neuroscience. 

 

About You

  • You love science and learning. Whether it’s gaining knowledge in new fields of scientific research or learning a new lab technique, you never stop being curious and routinely enjoy stepping out of your comfort zone to learn new things. 
  • You are detail-oriented. You are careful and diligent about good documentation practices, good lab practices, and overall obsessed with keeping things organized. 
  • You love to collaborate and help others. Science is a team effort and you pride yourself in taking the initiative to help out. 
  • You are a problem solver. Science isn’t perfect and it’s common for you to come across issues you need to troubleshoot. You pride yourself in your ability to troubleshoot complex problems in the lab.

 

In this position you will

  • Perform daily activities related to human ESC culture, including cell maintenance, cell engineering as well as differentiation of hESCs into neurons.
  • Collaborate closely with a senior scientist in the laboratory to conduct high-throughput CRISPR perturbation experiments in stem cell-derived neurons.
  • Learn a wide variety of cutting-edge techniques while participating in a project at the intersection of genomics, stem cell biology, and neuroscience.
  • Assist with molecular and cellular experiments including cloning, mammalian cell culture, transfection, cell sorting, and RNA sequencing.
  • Learn and assist with planning and execution of in vivo experiments.
  • Learn to conduct experimental planning, execution, analysis, troubleshooting and data interpretation with a high degree of independence and continued support from the rest of the team. This is a good opportunity for candidates prior to enrolling in a PhD program, as you will be involved in all stages of a project under the guidance of an experienced scientist.
  • Present results in subgroup and lab meetings

Job Requirements

  • BS/MS or equivalent professional experience in cellular biology, molecular biology, neuroscience, or another relevant field 
  • 2+ years of relevant experience (including independent lab work during your undergraduate studies) incorporating strong hands-on experience with molecular biology and cell culture techniques.
  • Experience working with molecular biology (cloning) and sensitive cells (e.g. stem cells and neurons, etc.)
  • Detail-oriented with excellent organizational and time management skills.
  • Outstanding critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
  • Strong oral and written communication skills.
  • Be both a strong individual contributor as well as a collaborative team member.
  • Ability to work some weekends as needed (days off can be swapped for weekdays).

 

Preferred Skills

  • In vivo (mouse) experience is a plus for this position. Motivation to learn and perform in vivo procedures is required.

The base salary for this position is $73,700. This amount does not include benefits or other forms of compensation.

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