Assistant Project Scientist - Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences

The Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA currently has an opening for an Assistant Project Scientist to join the Laboratory of Dr. X. William Yang. The Yang Lab (http://yanglab.npih.ucla.edu/) applies cutting-edge mouse genetics, systems biology and BRAIN Initiative neurotechnology to study the pathogenesis and therapeutics of neurodegenerative disorders including Huntington’s disease (HD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The Assistant Project Scientist will be a key member of a diverse and dynamic research team focusing on high-throughput cell-based screening approaches and in vivo scalable viral perturbation approaches to study disease mechanisms and identifying candidate therapeutics.

The Assistant Project Scientist will be responsible for developing novel cell lines, cellbased assay development, and implementing cell-based functional genomic or chemogenomic screenings. She/he will also be responsible for generating adeno-associated viruses (AAV) and contribute to experiments related to the in vivo validation of molecular targets of interest in the neurodegenerative disease models. In addition to conducting and overseeing the day-to-day research of this project, the Assistant Project Scientist will work with the PI and other senior scientists in the lab to: (1) ensure expedient and efficient production of high-quality data; (2) troubleshoot technical difficulties and adjust methods accordingly; (3) ensure standard operating procedures and IACUC policies are followed; (4) keep track of expenditures; (5) contribute to progress reports and publications.

The position requires a Ph.D. or an equivalent degree in one of the following fields: molecular biology, cell biology, pharmacology, and molecular neuroscience. The individual should demonstrate a strong background, preferably publications, to show a strong track-record in mammalian cell biology, especially showing experience with cell lines or iPSCs and cell assay development (e.g. transfections, FACS, cell line development); high-throughput cell-based screening (e.g. CRISPR or CRISPRi screening); molecular biology (cloning and generating gene expression constructs or viral constructs); chemistry or pharmacology, and data analysis. Experience in mouse genetics or neurodegenerative disorders is not required. Computer skills should include proficiency in productivity software (Office, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop/Illustrator), basic statistics and image analysis software. The individual should be highly motivated, independent, organized, mentally flexible, have good verbal and written communication skills, ability to multitask and working on multiple projects, and work well in a highly collaborative environment/project.

Salary will be consistent with the UCLA Project Scientist Series. Interested candidates should submit i) a cover letter outlining academic interests, ii) CV and bibliography, iii) and at least three letters of reference to the application portal at: https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/apply/JPF08228. For additional information about the position, contact Dr. X. William Yang at xwyang@mednet.ucla.edu.

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