Wet Lab Scientist - Ligand Discovery in Gorgulla Lab

Join an excellent team of researchers dedicated to coming closer to the mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, that no child will die at the dawn of life. The QAI4

Bio (Quantum AI for Biology) Lab led by Dr. Christoph Gorgulla within the Center of Excellence for Data-Driven Discovery in the Structural Biology Department of St. Jude seeks a skilled and highly motivated wet lab Scientist with experience in ligand discovery.

Our research group is focused on developing state-of-the-art computational methods for ligand/drug discovery, using machine learning, high-performance/cloud computing, quantum chemistry and quantum computing. Our lab also includes a wet lab dedicated to experimentally verifying the computationally predicted results in real-world drug discovery projects.

As a (wet lab) Scientist, you will play a pivotal role in our team. This position is at the frontier of drug discovery, focusing to a large extend on the experimental validation of protein-ligand interactions. We will be targeting proteins associated with a range of areas, including epigenetic regulation, cancer, and healthy aging/longevity. You will work on producing high-quality proteins, designing and performing binding assays by biophysical methods (SPR, MST, ITC, BLI) or Fluorescence-based (i.e. FP, TR-FRET) methods, and optimizing workflows for ligand discovery.

Depending on your skills, you might also work on structural studies (NMR, X-ray, cryo-EM, …) and use the state-of-the-art core facilities and centers dedicated to structural studies e. In your role as lab manager you will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the wet lab. Our lab is new, and you will be the first full-time team member in our wet lab.

In addition, there is the “dry lab” where the computational/theoretical researchers will be located.

In our lab, you will have the opportunity to lead collaborative projects, mentor junior scientists and students, and contribute to high-impact publications. Collaboration is at the heart of our work, and you will closely work with our computational and other wet-lab colleagues to validate and experimentally verify the predicted hit and lead compounds. By working together in a collaborative and intellectually stimulating environment, you will have the opportunity to contribute to multiple ligand/drug discovery projects and make a lasting impact on the lives of children and the world.

• Leading the wet lab experiments of our ligand/drug discovery projects with minimal to moderate supervision.
• Protein Production:
  Express and purify target proteins of interest, predominantly using bacterial expression systems, and in cases needed insect, or mammalian systems. Ensure production meets quality standards for downstream structural and functional studies.
• Binding Assays:
  Design and execute ligand-binding experiments, with a focus on biophysical assays and fluorescence-based assays, but also including cell-based assays. Optimize assay conditions for robust and reproducible results.
• Wet Lab Leadership/Management:
  Manage day-to-day operations of the wet lab. Mentoring and training wet lab members, including postdocs, graduate students, and technicians. Oversee equipment maintenance and inventory of reagents.
• Identify, process, organize, summarize, review, and report relevant data.
• Interacting with computational team members (who will mostly identify the hit and lead compounds computationally).
• Manuscript preparation, submission, and the review process will be part of the responsibilities (under the supervision of the PI), ensuring that the lab’s findings are disseminated to the scientific community.
• Actively collaborate with interdepartmental teams, fostering interdisciplinary approaches to solving complex scientific challenges.
• Present research findings to internal and external audiences (e.g. conferences), contributing to the hospital’s mission of advancing pediatric research.

• Bachelor's degree in relevant scientific area is required.

• Eight (8) years of relevant work experience is required with a Bachelor's degree.
• Six (6) years of relevant work…