Biomedical Research Fellow

Biomedical Research Fellow: Chromatin and Epigenetic Determinants of Biological Age.• San Diego, California• Competitive salary & comprehensive benefits package• The Scintillon Research Institute

The Terskikh laboratory has pioneered an imaging-based approach to quantitate biological age. In contrast to DNA methylation-based clocks (DNAm age), imaging-based chromatin and epigenetic age (ImAge) enable us to systematically quantitate the aging process at a single cell level in all organs and tissues and to test thousands of compounds to identify hits that could be turned into drugs which will slow down or revert aging.

The laboratory thrives on the crossroads of several interrelated fields and techniques, embracing a wide range of collaborations with leading researchers in the outstanding scientific environment of San Diego (Salk, Scripps, UCSD) and worldwide (in particular in Perth, Harry Perkins Institute, University of Western Australia). The specific project(s) will be discussed with the candidate, but possible directions include: 1) How the agingprocess varies in different organs and cell types? To develop focused pipelines for quantitating biological age in different tissues at single cell level. 2) To investigate and quantitate the heterogeneity of aging process in different organs and tissues at single cell level. 3) To employ partial reprogramming in vivo using doxycycline-inducible expression of transgenic OSKM cassette to investigate the heterogeneity of in vivo rejuvenation at the single cell level. 4) Untangling self-renewal vs disposable stem cell models of adult neurogenesis using lineage barcoding (e.g. PolyloxExpress reporter mice). To understand the implications for human adult neurogenesis.

The project can employ state-of-the-art molecular and cellular biology approaches, including RNA-seq, ATACseq, Cut&Tag-seq, spatial “-omics” at the single cell level, and state-of-the-art gene manipulations using RNAi and CRISPR technology. We routinely employ sophisticated mouse models as well as human cell and tissue models.

Primary Responsibilities• Conduct tissue culture and animal (mice) experiments as required by the project design.• Use cellular and animal models to discover networks and pathways and to generate functional predictions and testable hypotheses.• Take advantage of confocal and automated microscopy to acquire large image collections and employ machine learning and custom-built pipelines to analyze the dataset.• Independently design and performs experiments and procedures with high degree of complexity, demonstrating increasing expertise with a wide range of techniques.• Write reports, manuscripts, and grant applications with increasing responsibility over time.

Knowledge, Skills, and AbilitiesQualified candidates should be proficient in molecular and cellular biology, fluorescent microscopy, and gene expression/data analyses. Expertise in machine learning and familiarity with programming and code environments (Python, R, C, Jupiter notebooks) is a plus. Successful candidates should have a demonstrated ability for independent and critical thinking, excellent communication and teamwork skills, and strong publication record.

Required ExperiencePhD in Biological Sciences or equivalent; dual expertise in cell biology & computation is a plus.

Inquiries: terskikh@scintillon.org