Company: University of California, San Francisco
Position Title: Staff Research Associate I/II – Innate immunity & fungal pathogenesis
Department: Biochemistry and Biophysics
Location: Mission Bay
Position Type: Full Time
Percentage: 100%
Work Days/Shift: Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 5:30pm
Requisition #: 75060BR
Job Summary:
In this position you would be an integral member of the Madhani Lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF which resides in Genentech Hall at the Mission Bay Campus. The Madhani lab develops and uses innovative technologies to understand cellular and molecular mechanisms of gene regulation and host-pathogen interactions. We are an interdisciplinary group of postdocs, graduate students, and staff research associates. We are proud of our lab culture of intellectual curiosity, collaboration, support, diversity, and fun! Previous staff research associates from the lab have gone onto highly desirable positions in graduate school and biotech. This is an ideal position for recent graduates seeking additional experience. A major focus of the lab is understanding how fungal pathogens of humans cause disease. We use the opportunistic fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans as model for approaching this question. Cryptococcus infects individuals who are severely immunodeficient including end-stage AIDS patients. It is responsible for ~200,000 deaths annually, primarily in this patient population. Our laboratory has been at the forefront of studies of C. neoformans. This haploid budding yeast is highly experimentally tractable. We have recently identified new mechanisms by which C. neoformans manipulates the innate immune system, specifically macrophages, a key cell type involved in the body’s defense against pathogens.
In this position, you will be working with one or more postdoctoral fellows and/or graduate students in studies aimed at understanding the role of fungal virulence factors in the evasion of innate immune blocks to infection, with the goal of identifying fundamentally new principles of host-pathogen interactions.
Responsibilities include mouse husbandry, performing infection studies with mutant strains of C. neoformans, constructing mutant strains of C. neoformans, isolation of bone marrow-derived macrophages and dendritic cells, and flow cytometric analysis of innate immune responses.
Department Description: The Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics is a large teaching and research department within the School of Medicine. The department offers graduate studies in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, Systems Biology, and Genetics degree programs, in addition to providing courses for medical, dental, and pharmacy students. Each program includes interdepartmental faculty representing: the Cancer Center, Medicine, Pharmacy, Physiology, Pediatrics, Microbiology, Pathology, Anatomy, Psychiatry and Neurology departments, as well as our own. In addition to offering course work, the department’s other main goal is to provide an environment where outstanding research in diverse areas of interest is conducted. A close, collaborative spirit among faculty facilitates a research atmosphere that is both productive and exciting. Moreover, many colleagues from other departments have joint appointments with Biochemistry, which forms an added active pool of investigators with whom we closely collaborate.
Required Qualifications:
SRA 1:
- BA/BS in immunology, microbiology or related science and knowledge of, or experience with, the basic techniques or methods required by the position; and/or an equivalent combination of education and experience
SRA 2:
- BA/BS in immunology, microbiology or related science and one or more years of recent, directly related work experience, utilizing the techniques or methods required by the position; and/or equivalent experience/training.
- Experience with immunology, microbiology, and/or molecular biology
- Highly organized, attention to detail, demonstrated record-keeping abilities
- Working knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
- Excellent communication skills; good written English and skills to write reports
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with mouse husbandry
- Working knowledge of flow cytometry and microscopy
- Experience in molecular biology, such as PCR or molecular cloning
- Experience in biochemistry, such as Western blotting or enzymatic assays
- Bioinformatics experience, such as analysis of imaging or next-generation sequencing data
About UCSF
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Emailed applications are not accepted.
Apply specifically to requisition # 75060BR.
The University of California San Francisco is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.