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Senior Scientist, Stem Cell Glial Model Development

Palo Alto, CA

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 Investigators’ (PIs’) 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 has scaled to nearly 200 people. With $650M+ in committed funding and a state of the art new lab facility in Palo Alto, Arc will continue to grow quickly in the coming years.

 

About the position

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Scientist to advance the mission of our Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative (ADI), an institutional effort aimed at deepening our understanding of the molecular and biological processes driving Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The person in this role will lead the development of innovative differentiation protocols to generate complex brain cell types including astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and immune-related cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), will conduct systematic protocol comparisons and create new models and approaches to capture the complexity of AD-relevant cell populations. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in neurodevelopmental biology, with a proven track record in generating novel differentiation protocols and leveraging genome editing tools and/or NGS, transcriptomics, proteomics or cell-based assays to characterize the cell models while generating valuable biological and mechanistic insights. 

About you

  • You love science and the opportunities it creates. You find excitement in the opportunity to develop novel hPSC differentiation methodologies and in vitro brain models to address challenging questions in the field of neurodegeneration and find cellular and molecular pathways/targets directly responsible for disease phenotypes. 
  • You are a collaborator. You’re an expert in your domain and you greatly enjoy working successfully with scientists from other teams, labs and scientific domains. You believe that working on projects with scientists from different backgrounds can lead to the most exciting and successful research.
  • You are an optimizer. In science, there’s always a race against the clock. You care deeply about making every step of the way as close to perfect as possible but also as quick and efficient as possible.

In this position you will

  • Lead development of novel differentiation protocols:
    • Design, test, and optimize protocols for differentiating hPSCs into challenging brain cell types. 
    • Conduct systematic comparisons of existing protocols to identify areas for improvement.
  • Establish advanced in vitro brain models:
    • Implement novel 2D and 3D brain models containing a variety of cell types to represent the complexity of the human brain.
    • Integrate expertise in neurodevelopmental biology to enhance fidelity in Alzheimer's disease modeling and build systems that closely reflect disease-associated phenotypes.
  • Use a range of assays (cell-based, biochemical, molecular) and techniques (NGS, transcriptomics, proteomics) to rigorously validate cell identity, assess cellular function, and confirm model relevance to AD pathophysiology. 
  • Interpret complex datasets to understand the molecular and cellular drivers of AD, directly shaping the scientific direction of internal research projects and guiding the selection of new targets and approaches.
  • Use CRISPR-Cas9 and other genome editing techniques to discover new pathways for cell differentiation.
  • Collaborate and lead cross-functional projects, integrating in vitro brain models into broader research and technology development programs at Arc.
  • Provide mentorship and guidance to research associates and junior scientists.
  • Manage projects effectively to deliver results on time.
  • Stay current with scientific advances, keeping up to date on the latest developments in stem cell research and neurobiology, and actively seeking opportunities for innovation.

Requirements

  • Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Cell Biology, or a related field with a minimum of 4-5+ years of postdoctoral experience in academia and/or industry.
  • Extensive expertise in neurodevelopmental biology and hPSC-based differentiation protocols.
  • Proven experience in developing and troubleshooting novel protocols for differentiating astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and/or immune-related cells.
  • Strong background in systematic protocol comparisons, optimization, and validation.
  • Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
  • Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary environment.
  • Strong project management skills with the ability to plan, execute, and deliver results on time.
  • Ability to work some weekends as needed (days off can be swapped for weekdays).

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with high-throughput screening methodologies and applications.
  • Proficiency with CRISPR-Cas9 and other genome editing tools.
  • A track record of publications demonstrating innovation in neurodevelopmental biology and stem cell differentiation.

The base salary range for this position is $131,750 to $162,750. These amounts reflect the range of base salary that the Institute reasonably would expect to pay a new hire or internal candidate for this position. The actual base compensation paid to any individual for this position may vary depending on factors such as experience, market conditions, education/training, skill level, and whether the compensation is internally equitable, and does not include bonuses, commissions, differential pay, other forms of compensation, or benefits. This position is also eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus, with the amount dependent on individual and institute performance factors.



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