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Senior Research Associate, Functional Genomics

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

The Mammalian Models Technology Center is seeking a motivated Senior Research Associate (SRA) to join the In Vivo Functional Genomics Team. 

In this position, you will contribute to execute large-scale in vivo perturbation screens aimed at mapping the genetic circuits that govern immune functions across different tissues. This work is integral to two key initiatives: the Virtual Cell Initiative, which seeks to build the first foundation model for accurate predictions about cell states, and the Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative, which applies these methods to find cures for Alzheimer's.

This position offers an exceptional opportunity to apply and develop cutting-edge technologies to unveil the molecular principles that govern cellular fates. You will join a multidisciplinary team working at the crossroads of Immunology, Neuroscience, CRISPR technologies, Multi-omics and Computational biology. A key aspect of this role is the opportunity to collaborate closely with pioneering labs that have developed the foundational toolbox for functional genomics screens, such as CRISPR nucleases, CRISPRi, CRISPRoff, CRISPRa, and serine or bridge recombinases.

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 can work fast and are detail-oriented. You are careful and diligent about good documentation practices and keeping things organized while moving at a rapid pace. 
  • You love to collaborate and help others. Science is a team effort, and you pride yourself in taking the initiative to help. 
  • You are a problem solver. It's common in science to come across issues you need to troubleshoot, and you pride yourself in your ability to independently and collaboratively troubleshoot complex problems in the lab.

In this position, you will

  • Assist with research planning, execution, analysis, troubleshooting, and data interpretation with a high degree of independence and continued support from the rest of the team 
  • Contribute to our immune in vivo functional genomics screens across multiple tissues to dissect the circuits that shape mature immune functions 
  • Contribute to the generation an in vivo perturbation dataset with unprecedented scale to develop the in vivo branch of Arc’s Virtual Cell Initiative
  • Contribute to our ongoing neuro-immune screens in mouse and NHP models to understand the causes and drivers of Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Develop new single-cell and spatial methodologies tailored to our in vivo perturbation screens.
  • Support large institutional genomic initiatives through efficient workflow execution and quality management

Job Responsibilities

  • Isolation of immune cells from various tissues using MACS and/or FACS.
  • Perform Single-cell transcriptomic profiling of perturbed cells using 10X genomics and Split and pool methods
  • Perform Spatial transcriptomic profiling of perturbed cells using established technologies and benchmark and develop new spatial methods tailored to our in vivo screens.
  • Perform library cloning (CRISPR and ORFs) and viral vector production (Lentivirus and AAV).
  • Operate Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) platforms
  • Support routine lab activities, e.g., maintaining equipment, ordering/receiving supplies
  • Maintain an organized and detailed lab notebook.
  • Analyze and present data at meetings and seminars, as needed.

Job Requirements

  • BS/MS or equivalent professional experience in biology, neuroscience, genetics, or another relevant field 
  • BS degree, 4-5+ years of relevant experience or a MS degree, 2+ years of relevant postgraduate experience on CRISPR and/or single-cell genomics.  
  • Experience in molecular biology and single-cell genomics is a must for this role.
  • Experience with tissue dissociation and flow cytometry and FACS
  • Experience with cell culture

Preferred Skills: 

  • Experience with library cloning (sgRNAs, ORFs, etc)
  • Experience with animal handling and surgeries.
  • Ability to analyze large and complex data sets using Python, R, or similar tools.

The base salary range for this position is $84,250 to $114,250. 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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