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Postdoctoral Researcher, Pluvinage Lab

Palo Alto, CA

About Arc Institute

The Arc Institute is a new scientific institution conducting 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 fully funds 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 300 people to date. 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 Postdoc to join the Pluvinage Lab at the Arc Institute. Our goal is to improve the lives of patients with neurological diseases. We do this by exploring undiagnosed autoimmunity in rare mystery cases and common neurodegenerative conditions alike.

The questions we ask:

  1. How do autoantibodies regulate cognition?
  2. What is the source, target, and mechanism of pathogenic autoantibodies in neurological disease?
  3. How can we eliminate pathogenic autoantibodies while leaving the rest of the immune system intact?
  4. How does comorbid autoimmunity contribute to cognitive decline in neurodegeneration?
  5. Are there protective autoantibodies that promote cognitive resilience in healthy brain aging?

The approaches we take: discovery-driven projects starting with human samples (cerebrospinal fluid, PBMCs, brain tissue) from curated cohorts of patients with neurological diseases, CRISPR screens, phage display, immune repertoire sequencing

Postdocs will be encouraged to lead independent projects resulting in high impact publications, present at conferences, and prepare for long-term careers in academia or industry. Clinical residents or fellows interested in physician-scientist pathways are encouraged to apply.

About you

  • You are extremely curious and self-motivated.
  • You thrive in a fast-paced environment while conducting rigorous and impactful research.
  • You are intellectually independent and are able to design new research directions and projects (with input from your PI).
  • You are eager to learn and adapt new techniques.
  • You are excited by solving puzzles that have a translational impact and/or creating new therapeutic approaches.

In this position you will

  • Design, perform and analyze experiments 
  • Keep appropriate experimental records and documentation
  • Analyze results with the Principal Investigator
  • General lab maintenance as well as operation and maintenance of equipment and instruments.
  • Collaborate with post-docs, students and employees
  • May mentor/train research associates, technicians, and students. 
  • Publish, present, and represent that lab in journals and conferences.
  • Present at lab meetings, and participate in Arc-wide activities (seminars, symposiums, etc).

Requirements

  • Doctorate (MD, PhD, MD/PhD, or equivalent) in immunology, genetics, neuroscience, or related field 
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment and be both an independent thinker and a highly collaborative team player

The minimum base salary for this position is $80,000. Base salary for this role is determined by how many months of relevant postdoctoral experience a successful candidate has. Base salary for this role is not negotiable.

 

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