Research Associate I

Gladstone Institutes; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 39,000 - 44,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Excellent benefits

Healthy work/life balance

Free shuttle transportation

Job summary

The Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, CA, is seeking a Research Associate I to join the Finkbeiner Lab. This role offers hands-on opportunities in cutting-edge neurodegeneration research using iPSC-derived neurons, glia, and organoids, with emphasis on autophagy-lysosome pathways and high-content imaging.

Collaborative, multidisciplinary team environment; opportunity to contribute to disease mechanisms, interact with industry partners, and present findings in team meetings and conferences.

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Biology, Biotechnology, or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience
• 0-2 years of research experience including basic biology skills and excellent cell culture sterile technique
• Experience with cell culture, microscopy, and cellular and molecular biology techniques

Responsibilities

• Maintain and differentiate human patient iPSCs to neurons, microglia, astrocytes, and organoids, and perform cell-based assays
• Perform automated and manual cell-based imaging assays with novel biosensors for cell survival and neuroinflammation
• Perform standard assay techniques such as ELISA, western blotting, immunocytochemistry, and imaging
• Perform standard molecular biology techniques and DNA work
• Perform data analysis of imaging data using basic computational tools to generate datasets
• Review data, prepare figures and present results to scientists

Tools

ImageJ/Fiji

R

Galaxy

Nextflow

Python

Job description

Who we are:

The Gladstone Institutes is an independent, not-for-profit research institution. Its mission is to improve the health and well-being of all people through medical research and education in neuroscience, cardiovascular biology, immunology, and stem cell biology. Home to notable leaders in science and biomedicine,

Category

Science

Lab/Area

Finkbeiner Lab

Description

Who we are:

The Gladstone Institutes is an independent, not-for-profit research institution. Its mission is to improve the health and well-being of all people through medical research and education in neuroscience, cardiovascular biology, immunology, and stem cell biology. Home to notable leaders in science and biomedicine,

Gladstone comprises five institutes as well as various centers and programs. All of its approximately 600 members are aligned in their mission to carry out or support science that overcomes disease. Located in an award-winning building at the Mission Bay Campus, Gladstone offers a competitive salary and benefits program. It provides an ideal environment for those seeking to maximize and fully leverage their potential. Consider Gladstone and make a difference in human health.

About The Role

We are seeking a highly motivated, curious, and creative Research Associate I to join our discovery team that is focused on investigating the mechanisms of age-dependent neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation to better understand disease biology and to identify novel therapeutic opportunities for neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Huntington’s disease (HD). One key area of research involves modeling neuroinflammation and the role it plays in neurodegeneration by focusing on the role of glia, and especially neuron-microglial interactions, to better understand the mechanistic contributions to disease pathogenesis. We are also interested in the role that protein homeostasis plays in aging and in disease, and a main research focus in the lab is on the autophagy-lysosome pathway (ALP). This position offers an opportunity to participate in cutting-edge research and use high-throughput (HTS) and high-content (HCS) image-based screening by robotic microscopy and computational approaches including machine learning in glial and neuron cell types derived from human patient induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) to identify disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets.

The candidate will join a dynamic multidisciplinary research team and we wish to find someone with a collaborative and pioneering work ethic and genuine enthusiasm and curiosity to learn. Many of our projects are carried out in collaboration with industry partners to develop new therapeutics based on the targets we identify.

What You Will Do

• Maintain and differentiate human patient iPSCs to neurons, microglia, astrocytes, and organoids, and carry out cell transfections, nucleofections, or viral transductions and perform cell-based assays using imaging and other approaches.
• Perform automated and manual cell-based imaging assays with novel biosensors for cell survival, neuroinflammation, autophagy, lysosome function, protein trafficking, and other cell-based functions.
• Perform standard assay techniques such as ELISA, western blotting, immunocytochemistry, and immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy and spectral imaging.
• Perform standard molecular biology techniques such as DNA preparation and restriction enzyme digestions, DNA cloning and plasmid construction, gel electrophoresis, and qPCR.
• Perform manual curation and statistical analysis of imaging data using basic computational skills (R-analysis, Galaxy pipeline workflow construction, Image J/Fiji) to generate high quality datasets for machine learning or publication.
• Exercise basic technical discretion to troubleshoot experiments
• Review data, prepare figures and reports, and communicate results to scientists and the general public in team and departmental meetings and conferences.
• Participate in collaborative work with multi-disciplinary teams
• Maintain and complete documentation of all experimental procedures in written and electronic lab notebooks.
• Perform other duties as requested, be a team player, and be a mindful and collaborative lab citizen.

What You Will Need

• B.S. or M.S. in Biology, Biotechnology, or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience
• 0-2 years of research experience including basic biology skills and excellent cell culture sterile technique
• Experience with cell culture, microscopy, and cellular and molecular biology techniques

What Is Preferred

• Experience with immunofluorescence, automated, and confocal microscopy is a plus
• Experience with machine learning and deep learning computational approaches to analyze imaging datasets
• Familiarity with image processing pipelines, such as Nextflow
• Familiarity with Python
• Willingness to learn new skills and take on complex new challenges beyond your comfort level with an enterprising “can-do”, creative, curious, and open‑minded attitude
• Ability to work independently and also collaboratively in a team‑oriented setting
• Excellent written and interpersonal communication and presentation

Salary Range

$28.35/hr. ($58,968) - $32.67/hr. ($67,949)

Gladstone Perks & Benefits

• People–work with talented, committed, and supportive teammates within an organization that values each member of its community.
• A meaningful place to grow and learn–whether it’s your professional skills or scientific knowledge, we have the resources and environment to advance either so you can better support Gladstone’s mission to drive a new era of discovery in disease‑oriented science and to mentor tomorrow’s leaders in an inspiring and excellent environment.
• Healthy work/life balance–you are highly engaged and productive at work because you can have time to recharge and enjoy a vibrant life outside of work.
• Compensation–competitive salary. Title and salary will be commensurate with education and experience.
• Excellent benefits–generous medical, dental, vision, retirement plan, paid vacation, commuter benefits, access to free shuttle transportation.

Gladstone is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other non‑job related characteristic. We make all employment decisions so as to further this principle of equal employment.