Specialist in Structural Biology

Position Description


Specialist in Structural Biology

* The Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (IND) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is seeking an outstanding and motivated individual to join our cutting- edge research institute aimed at discovering new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. The successful incumbent will work as a structural biology specialist focused on deciphering the structural basis for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), multiple system atrophy (MSA) and Parkinson’s disease (PD).

This will involve solving high-resolution cryo-EM and/or cryo-ET structures of disease-relevant filaments, including co-structures with therapeutic targets.

The IND cryo-EM facility is state of the art and includes a Titan Krios G4, Glacios, and L120C TEM instruments, as well as a Helios Hydra plasma FIB-SEM. The IND is directed by Nobel Laureate Dr. Stanley Prusiner and located at the Sandler Neurosciences Center at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus, a world-renowned hub of biomedical research and discovery.

The successful applicant will be an expert structural biology researcher with experience in the determination of atomic-resolution structures of protein macromolecules. They will be responsible for applying these methods and skills to support drug discovery and other research efforts at the IND. The incumbent will be a skilled communicator and collaborate with team members across disciplines at the IND and UCSF to advance cryo-EM research efforts to understand the structural basis of neurodegenerative disease-relevant protein macromolecules.

Required:


Personal Qualifications

• Possess a high sense of responsibility for his or her own career development, as well as for the wellbeing of our organization.
• Willingness to receive training and guidance from senior investigators as well as serve as a mentor to trainees on the project.

• Junior Specialist
  - Baccalaureate degree (or equivalent degree) in Chemistry, Biophysics, or related field or at least four years of research experience
• Assistant Specialist
  - Master’s degree or a baccalaureate degree in Chemistry, Biophysics, or related field with three or more years of research experience
• Associate Specialist
  - Master’s degree (or equivalent degree) in Chemistry, Biophysics, or related field or five to ten years of experience in the relevant specialization
• Full Specialist - terminal degree (or equivalent degree) in Chemistry, Biophysics, or related field or ten or more years of experience in the relevant specialization Technical Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in cryo-EM or cryo-ET including sample preparation, microscope operation, data collection, computational analysis, and 3D structure determination of protein macromolecules OR 2+ years of experience in high-resolution protein structure determination using x-ray crystallography or NMR with additional exposure to cryo-EM methodology.

• Ph.D. degree in Chemistry, Biophysics, or related field.
• Experience using cryo-EM data collection and processing software including SerialEM, EPU, Scipion, RELION, cryoSPARC or related package.
• Expereince in cryo-ET sample preparation, data collection, and/or data processing.
• Experience in protein expression, purification, and biochemistry OR purification of amyloid filaments from human and/or animal tissue.
• Experience modeling protein-ligand complexes, including the use of Phenix, COOT, or related software.
• Experience with density functional theory (DFT) or other computational modeling methods.