Cell Assay Senior or Lead Scientist – Blue Sky Kinases

We are seeking a highly driven Senior or Lead Scientist with broad interest in structural biology, protein kinases and signal transduction.

The World’s Brightest Minds Always Innovate  

At St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, we know what can be achieved when the brightest scientific minds face the fewest barriers. That’s why we provide world-class facilities. State-of-the-art technologies. Extraordinary support. And a collaborative, bench-to-bedside environment where you can see, firsthand, how your science translates into survival for the children we serve. Quite simply, at St. Jude, we encourage you to dream big and stop at nothing when it comes to finding cures and saving children. 

The candidate will work in a team based environment to integrate novel structural insights with cell biology to study multiple kinase targets in a dynamic, comprehensive, inter-disciplinary initiative at the Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The Blue Sky Initiative “Seeing the Invisible in Protein Kinases” is supported by US $50 million in institutional funding. This large-scale project aims to leverage ultra-high field NMR, complemented with cryoEM, X-ray crystallography, data-science and computational approaches, to characterize the conformational landscape of the human kinome. This initiative will have a profound impact on the field, transforming our understanding of protein kinases and creating new therapeutic opportunities.

The candidate will use their molecular biology, biochemistry, and cell culture skills to support signal transduction pathway analyses and novel kinase inhibitor development to understand how different kinase conformations contribute to the transduction of signals within a cell.

Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and perform cellular assays to characterize novel kinase conformations and inhibitors.
• Interpret, analyze, and communicate cell-based assay results with team collaborators, aiding in the optimization and development of these hits.
• Perform and quantify bioanalytical and cell-based assays:
• Immunoassays (e.g. ELISA, AlphaLISA, Mesoscale discovery)
• Western blots, protein-protein interaction assays, flow cytometry, reporter assays.
• Generate tissue culture-cell lines using CRISPR or similar technologies.
• Develop and execute target-specific assays, pathway-specific assays, reporter assays, and phenotype assays for inhibitor characterization.
• Tissue culture-cell line generation employing CRISPR or similar technologies
• Contribute to assay development process, including designing, optimizing, and conducting medium and high throughput cellular assays.
• Perform statistical analysis and proficiently use graphing software or R scripts.

​Successful Candidates Will Have:

• Experience in analysis of protein kinases/phosphorylation dependent signaling mechanisms and/or cellular signaling pathways
• Hands-on experience with cell-based assay techniques for studying cancer cell vulnerabilities and targets’ mechanisms of action, including but not limited to proliferation assays, microscopy, protein and RNA analysis, flow cytometry, and qPCR.
• Expertise in genetic (CRISPR and RNAi) and pharmacological (small molecules) perturbations.
• Proficiency in experimental design, assay development, execution of experiments, data analysis, interpretation, and presentation.
• Experience with lab automation for HT assays
• Experience with mouse models is preferred but not essential.

Competencies:

• Creative and result-driven, with strong critical thinking and quick learning abilities.
• Hardworking, well-organized, flexible, and capable of multitasking efficiently in a fast-paced environment.
• Able to work collaboratively and efficiently in teams with diverse backgrounds and opinions.
• Ability to prioritize work and complete assignments promptly.

Minimum Education and/or Training:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant scientific area is required for either level.

Senior Scientist Minimum Experience:

• Ten (10) years of relevant post-degree work experience is required with a Bachelor’s degree.
• Eight (8) years of relevant post-degree experience is required with a Master’s degree.
• Six (6) years of relevant post-degree work experience is required with a PhD.

Lead Scientist Minimum Experience:

• Twelve (12) years of relevant post-degree work experience is required with a Bachelor’s degree.
• Ten (10) years of relevant post-degree experience is required with a Master’s degree.
• Eight (8) years of relevant post-degree work experience is required with a PhD.

Better at Work. Better at Life.   

When you work at St. Jude, you’ll join a highly collaborative work culture that inspires you every day to be your best.  With opportunities for learning and growth, you can shape a career path that is right for you while also enjoying all the benefits and stability of working for a world-class institution. This includes work-life balance with generous paid time-off and on-campus conveniences that make life a little easier. Join us and you’ll quickly see why St. Jude is consistently ranked by our employees on Glassdoor as a “Best Place to Work.”    

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Get the best of big-city amenities mixed with all the charm of a small-town feel when you live in Memphis. From our world-renowned music scene to our eclectic mix of food and people. Memphis is a place our employees are proud to call home. Our region enjoys a cost of living more than 20% lower than the national average and our state places no personal income tax on wages. Plus, Memphians spend five hours less per year in their daily commute compared to the national average. Learn how you can “Have More in Memphis.” 

Compensation

In recognition of certain U.S. state and municipal pay transparency laws, St. Jude is including a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This is an estimate offered in good faith and a specific salary offer takes into account factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the salary range and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current salary range is $125,840 – $238,160 per year for the role of Cell Assay Senior or Lead Scientist – Blue Sky Kinases.

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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has a diverse, global patient population and workforce, built on the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. Our founder Danny Thomas envisioned a hospital that would treat children of the world—regardless of race, religion or a family’s ability to pay. Learn more about our history and commitment.

Today, we continue the mission to advance cures and means of prevention for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. As we accelerate this progress globally, we believe our legacy of diversity, equity and inclusion is foundational to success. With the commitment of leaders at all levels of the organization, we strive to ensure the St. Jude culture, leadership approaches and talent processes are equitable and culturally responsive. View our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report to learn about the hospital’s roots in diversity, equity and inclusion, where we are today and our aspirations for an even better future.

St. Jude is an Equal Opportunity Employer

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