Assistant Project Scientist Position in the Department of 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 mouse genetics and systems biology to study several neurodegenerative disorders and investigate the roles of mammalian basal ganglia in neuropsychiatric disorders including drug addiction. The Assistant Project Scientist will work as a member of a collaborative research team to study the pathogenesis of Huntington’s disease (HD). She/he will work on a project to study novel molecular targets that may be involved in HD pathogenesis. She/he will be responsible for managing a large mouse colony consisted of diverse genetically engineered mutant mice. The Assistant Project Scientist will be charged to import mice from vendors/public repositories, setting up mouse breeding, genotyping and monitoring the health of the mice, and performing behavioral and neuropathological studies. The latter may include dissection of brain tissues from various brain regions, preparation of RNA from the dissected brain regions, and quantitative neuropathological studies. The Assistant Project Scientist will also be responsible for keeping an accurate record of the mouse colony, and analyses of data from the mouse phenotypic studies. She/he may also be involved in teaching or supervising other researchers (e.g. entry level technicians, students), and contribute to generating progress reports, presentation and publications of data from the study.

The position requires a Ph.D. or an equivalent degree in one of the following fields: neuroscience, mouse genetics, or physiology, and at least three years of working experience in a relevant research field. The individual should have demonstrated background, preferably publications, to show a track-record in mouse genetics (especially mouse colony management), rodent behavioral and neuropathological studies, light and fluorescent microscopy, and data analyses. Experience in molecular biology is preferred but not required. The person should be highly motivated, have good verbal and written communication skills in English, and have evidence of being a good team player. Experience supervising others in research is also preferred.

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 the names and addresses of three references (do not send letters) to the application portal at: https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/apply/JPF07481. For additional information about the position, contact Yanglab@mednet.ucla.edu.

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