Department
 

BSD BMD - Greene Lab

About the Department
 

The overall mission of the Ben May Department for Cancer research is the elucidation of fundamental mechanisms responsible for carcinogenesis and metastasis and to exploit this knowledge to develop effective therapies and prevention strategies that will significantly diminish or eliminate the threat and lethality of cancer. Our faculty investigators use state-of-the-art technologies and approaches that challenge existing assumptions and push the boundaries of current knowledge. We believe that basic research on the molecular, cellular, and genetic events that contribute to carcinogenesis, metastasis and therapy resistance are the keys to making significant advances. These advances have been and will continue to be translated into improved approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Job Summary
 

The job develops and implements programs to promote a research project or contributes to the scientific direction of a research resource.
A full-time research professional is needed to work with the PI to independently mentor and supervise postdoctoral scholars, graduate students and/or undergraduates with several ongoing projects that focus on 1) the role of steroid receptors in cancer progression, 2) the role and targeting of the cGas/STING pathway in cancer and inflammatory pathologies, and 3) the development of nanoparticle delivery and retrieval systems for various clinical applications. Our group works at the intersection of cell biology, assay-development, drug-discovery, and structural biology to understand therapeutic potentials of protein targets and provide novel insights into protein function and drug discovery. The ideal candidate has a proven track record of expressing and purifying recombinant proteins for structural biology and drug discovery applications as well as additional experience performing, developing, and optimizing in vitro and cell-based assays. This individual will be expected to carry out multiple tasks concurrently and independently and will need to have good organizational, supervisorial, as well as laboratory skills. The successful candidate will ensure compliance of research activities with institutional, state, and federal regulatory policies, procedures, directives, mandates, and writes articles, reports, grants, and manuscripts describing research findings and future directions.

Responsibilities

• Maintaining mammalian cell culture and generating/selecting new cell lines using standard methods including lentiviral transduction and CRISPR knock out/knock.

• Use standard tools of molecular biology to generate protein expression constructs for downstream in vitro  expression and cell biology experiments.

• Expression of target proteins using E.coli, yeast, SF9, and HEK293F systems.

• Purification of recombinant proteins using affinity, ion exchange, gel filtration, and other chromatography methods as implemented on an AKTA system.

• Characterization of recombinant proteins using biophysical tools including DSF, ITC, SPR, FP, SEC, CD, and ELISA for subsequent biophysical analysis.  

• Develops and executes target specific enzyme-activity and cell-based assays (including high-throughput assays) to elucidate protein function and identify small molecule inhibitors, nanoparticles, and small-molecule conjugates.

• Collaborates with synthetic chemists and computational biologists both at the University and with third-party CROs to improve the affinity and physical properties of small molecules lead compounds.

• Translates knowledge of project-relevant scientific and patent literature into new therapeutic opportunities and research processes.

• Mentors and manages the research activities of post-docs, graduate students, research associates and undergraduate students to achieve research objectives.

• Serves as a resource for collecting data and performing analysis. Contributes to facilitating and promoting a research project by providing scientific or intellectual information.

• Reviews laboratory protocols and training on new techniques. Manage complex data sets for research.

• Leads the contributions to scientific writing and publications, including protocols and grants.

• Trains new laboratory personnel.

• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
 

Education:

Minimum requirements include a PhD in related field.

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Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

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Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Experience:

• Mammalian cell culture experience including transfection, viral transduction and CRISPR.

• Experience developing enzymatic and cell-based assays to study protein function and support small-molecule drug discovery.

• Experience in molecular biology methods including cloning, qPCR, RNAseq, and Western Blot.

• Experience in protein purification methods to support in vitro assay development and characterization by biophysical technologies.

• Demonstrated ability to execute experiments, analyze data, and report conclusions.

• Must be flexible and willing to work across multiple projects.

​Preferred Competencies

• Have a quantitative mindset and a strong scientific intuition.

• Ability to thrive in a highly collaborative, fast-paced, team-oriented environment with colleagues from diverse disciplines.

• Self-motivated and curious with a desire to learn from and teach others. 

Working Conditions

• Wet lab environment.

Application Documents

• Resume (required)

• Cover Letter (preferred)

When applying, the document(s) MUST  be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family
 

Research

Role Impact
 

Individual Contributor

FLSA Status
 

Exempt

Pay Frequency
 

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours
 

40

Benefits Eligible
 

Yes

Drug Test Required
 

No

Health Screen Required
 

Yes

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
 

No

Posting Statement
 

The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

 

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

 

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

 

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

 

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