Junior Specialist - Costello lab

University of California - San Francisco; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 57,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

University of California, San Francisco invites applications for a Junior Specialist in the Costello lab in San Francisco. Under direct supervision, you will perform cell and molecular analyses on glioma cells and patient-derived tissues, reporting progress biweekly to the PI and lab manager.

Responsibilities include human cell culture, RNA isolation, qPCR, protein work, 3D brain tumor modeling with Slicer, and developing R-based pipelines to map biopsies to immune scores, while keeping

Qualifications

• Baccalaureate degree in Neuroscience or Molecular and Cellular Biology.
• Proficiency in R and hands-on familiarity with Slicer 3D.
• Experience navigating a high performance compute cluster.
• Knowledge of hands-on cell culture and standard molecular biology techniques.
• Ability to document data accurately in lab notebooks and meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Perform cell and molecular analyses on glioma cells and patient-derived tissues.
• Report progress biweekly to the PI and lab manager.
• Conduct tumor cell assays including human cell culture, RNA isolation, qPCR, and protein work.
• Perform immunology assays and construct 3D brain tumor models using Slicer.
• Develop R-based pipelines to map spatial biopsies to immune scores or gene expression.
• Maintain accurate lab records and manage reagent inventory.

Skills

Cell culture techniques

Molecular biology techniques

Data documentation

Lab multitasking

Education

Baccalaureate degree in Neuroscience or Molecular and Cellular Biology

Tools

R

Slicer 3D

BearBuy

Job description

Application Window

Open date: August 10, 2026

Next review date: Tuesday, Aug 25, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Thursday, Feb 10, 2028 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

Junior Specialist - Costello lab

Under direct supervision, perform cell and molecular analysis on glioma cells and patient-derived tissues, reporting to Dr. Costello and the lab manager. Every two weeks, report progress and data directly to Dr. Costello and Dr. Okada and present at lab meeting to report research findings and difficulties.

Perform tumor cell assays, including human cell culturing, passaging, differentiation, cell counting, centrifugation, transferring liquids and pipetting molecular reagents.

Conduct molecular biology tasks such as RNA isolation, reverse transcription, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, protein purification, and immunoblotting.

Perform specialized immunology assays, including in vitro T-cell sensitization, and co-culture cytotoxicity assays to validate anti-tumor activity, use specialized machine to read raw data such as conductivity or cell number, keep record of data and interpret them using designated software.

Construct 3D brain tumor models using Slicer to visualize brain, tumor and spatial biopsies. Implement custom R-based pipelines to map spatial biopsies to immune scores or gene expression.

Keeping record of lab reagents and equipment inventory and assign order to lab manager on BearBuy when there's a shortage.

Required Qualifications:

• Baccalaureate degree in Neuroscience or Molecular and Cellular Biology.
• Proficiency in the computer language R and hands-on familiarly with Slicer 3D.
• Experience in navigating high performance compute cluster.
• Knowledge of hands-on experience with basic cell culture and standard molecular biology techniques.
• Demonstrated ability to accurately document data in laboratory notebook, multi-task and execute assays efficiently. Meet tight deadlines and meticulous to details.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Extensive prior undergraduate laboratory research experience specifically within a neuro-oncology or neurological surgery laboratory settings.
• Prior specialized training or hands on experience with live cell monitoring, molecular assays and immunology assays.
• Experience with computational analysis of qPCR, xCelligence, and BCA data, data interpretation and plotting in R.
• Proven track record of research productivity, and high-quality data generation, including co-authorship on peer-review publication(s).

See Table 24B for the salary range for this position. A reasonable estimate for this position is $57,000 - $60,700.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - CV must clearly list current and/or pending qualifications (e.g. board eligibility/certification, medical licensure, etc.).
• Cover Letter (Optional)
• Statement of Research (Optional)
• Statement of Teaching (Optional)

Reference requirements

• 3 required (contact information only)

About UC San Francisco

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

UCSF is committed to welcoming and serving all people, honoring the dignity of every individual without preference or prejudice, in support of its public mission and in alignment with our PRIDE values and Principles of Community.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

Job location

San Francisco, CA