Research Fellow - Neurology - Cousin lab

The Cousin Lab at Mayo Clinic is seeking a postdoctoral fellow will contribute to a growing rare disease therapeutics program with an initial emphasis on POLR2A-related disorders. This work will also support broader efforts in the lab, including genetic forms of ALS and other monogenic neurologic conditions. Projects may include iPSC-derived neural models, variant-mechanism studies, RNA-targeted therapies, genome editing, sequencing-based biomarkers, and collaboration with Mayo Clinic precision medicine and N-of-1 therapeutic programs, core facilities, and external academic partners.

The Cousin Lab at Mayo Clinic develops mechanism-guided, gene-targeted therapeutic strategies for rare neurogenetic diseases. Our work integrates clinical genetics, patient-derived biospecimens, functional genomics, iPSC-based disease modeling, preclinical therapeutic testing, and clinical translation.

The fellow will lead experimental and analytical components of translational rare disease projects. The role includes developing and characterizing patient-derived and engineered cell models; defining variant effects and disease mechanisms; designing and evaluating RNA-targeted and gene-editing therapeutic strategies; and integrating functional, genomic, and clinical data to prioritize treatment approaches. The position involves substantial wet-lab research, quantitative data analysis, manuscript and grant preparation, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

The fellow will join a collaborative Mayo Clinic environment with access to clinical expertise, core facilities, genomic and sequencing resources, translational infrastructure, and multi-institutional rare disease networks. This position offers the opportunity to develop an independent research niche at the interface of rare disease biology, human neural modeling, and targeted therapeutic development; publish first-author manuscripts; present at national and international meetings;

and pursue external fellowship or career-development funding.

• Disease Modeling & Assay Development:
  
  Develop and characterize patient-derived and engineered disease models, including fibroblasts, iPSCs, isogenic controls, iPSC-derived neural cell types, and organoid or multicellular systems.
• Mechanistic & Functional Studies:
  
  Design and execute molecular, cellular, imaging, electrophysiologic, and functional genomics assays to define variant effects, disease mechanisms, cellular phenotypes, biomarkers, and therapeutic response.
• Therapeutic Development:
  
  Develop and evaluate RNA-targeted and gene-editing strategies, including ASO/siRNA, allele-selective or splice-modifying approaches, CRISPR/base-editing platforms, delivery systems, and target-engagement or rescue assays.
• Genomic Data Integration:
  
  Integrate variant interpretation, sequencing data, and functional readouts to prioritize therapeutic strategies and evaluate loss-of-function, dominant-negative, allele-specific, and related mechanisms.
• Collaboration & Translation:
  
  Coordinate with the PI, clinicians, partners, core facilities, biobanks, and external collaborators to align patient samples, disease models, assays, and preclinical workflows.
• Scientific Communication & Mentorship:
  
  Manage projects with rigor and reproducibility; prepare figures, reports, manuscripts, presentations, and grant/fellowship applications; and contribute to mentoring junior team members.