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Senior Scientist, Stem Cell-Based Alzheimer's Disease Modeling

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 an 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 contribute to the development and optimization of complex brain models including oligodendrocytes and immune-related cells generated from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), while placing significant emphasis on using these advanced 3D brain models and developing relevant readouts to assess disease phenotypes. The ideal candidate will have experience in stem cell biology and neurodegenerative diseases, with demonstrated ability to work with complex cell types and leverage scientific and technical approaches to generate valuable biological and mechanistic insights into Alzheimer's disease.

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

  • Contribute to establishment and refinement of differentiation protocols:
    • Optimize protocols for differentiating hPSCs into challenging brain cell types, such as oligodendrocytes, immune-related cells such as T-cells, and/or cellular components of the blood brain barrier
    • Apply systematic approaches to improve existing protocols
  • Establish and implement advanced in vitro brain models:
    • Develop and utilize 3D brain models containing multiple cell types to represent the complexity of the human brain
    • Design and implement robust readouts to assess disease phenotypes in these models.
    • Integrate expertise in neurodegenerative biology to enhance fidelity in Alzheimer's disease modeling
  • Generate biological and disease insights:
    • Use a range of assays and techniques (NGS, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics) to analyze AD-relevant cell populations and disease mechanisms
    • Interpret complex datasets to understand the molecular and cellular drivers of AD, directly shaping the scientific direction of internal research projects
  • Apply genome editing techniques to investigate disease mechanisms and improve model systems
  • Collaborate on cross-functional projects, integrating in vitro brain models into broader research programs
  • Provide mentorship and guidance to research associates and junior scientists
  • Manage projects effectively to deliver results on time
  • Stay current with scientific advances in stem cell research, neurobiology, and AD research

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
  • Experience and strong knowledge in human pluripotent stem cell culture and differentiation protocols
  • Background in neurodegenerative diseases, and experience working with neuronal, glial and/or immune cell types
  • Experience with techniques and readouts to assess cellular identity, function and diseased phenotypes
  • Demonstrated ability to implement and analyze complex cellular models in the context of disease to generate biological and mechanistic insights
  • Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
  • 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 developing or optimizing protocols for differentiating oligodendrocytes or other challenging brain cell types in the context of Alzheimer’s disease
  • Experience with 3D cellular models or organoids
  • Experience developing or building blood-brain barrier models in vitro from iPSCs
  • Proficiency with CRISPR-Cas9 and other genome editing tools
  • Experience with high-throughput screening methodologies
  • A track record of publications demonstrating innovation in neurodevelopmental biology, stem cell models, and/or neurodegenerative disease research

The base salary range for this position is $140,000 to $172,500. 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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