Research Scientist

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Job Summary

We seek a creative and technically rigorous Research Scientist to design, build, and deploy synthetic biology tools for engineering gut bacteria, with a focus on gut-brain axis diseases. The ideal candidate will be able to work independently throughout the process of designing and testing new therapeutic modalities.

Essential Job Duties

• Engineer anaerobic bacterial protein expression systems. (15%)
• Design and build bacterial engineering tools to be deployed in the gut. (20%)
• Design and conduct in vitro and in vivo experiments to characterize and validate bacterial engineering tools across relevant disease models. (30%)
• Develop techniques to measure in vivo protein expression and activity (20%)
• Prepare research reports, drafts and presentations for internal meetings, publications, grant proposals and conferences. (15%)

Basic Qualifications

• PhD in Biological Sciences.
• Detailed knowledge of synthetic biology and the gut microbiome.
• 5+ years of synthetic biology and microbiology experience.
• Strong experience with standard molecular biology technologies including plasmid design, PCR, DNA cloning, NGS, protein purification and analysis.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Highly organized, self-directed, and execution oriented.

Preferred Qualifications

• Postdoctoral experience.
• Detailed knowledge of gut-brain interactions in health and disease contexts.
• Experience mentoring undergraduates or graduate students.
• Demonstrated track record of publications.
• Experience presenting at scientific meetings.

Required Documents

• Resume