Lab Manager / Research Associate in Genomics and Heart Disease

We are seeking a highly motivated and organized individual to join us as a Lab Manager and Research Associate in Genomics and Heart Disease. In this role, the candidate will support three interrelated laboratories (Jesse Engreitz, Casey Gifford, and Xiaojie Qiu) in the Stanford Children’s Heart Center Basic Science and Engineering Initiative and Department of Genetics, which are all located together in the Biomedical Innovations Building on Stanford main campus.

Lab overview: Our overall mission is to leverage advances in genetics and genomics to cure children’s heart diseases. In particular, DNA regulatory elements in the human genome, which harbor thousands of genetic risk variants for common and rare heart diseases and could reveal targets for therapeutics that aim to precisely tune cellular functions — if only we could map the complex regulatory wiring that connects 2 million regulatory elements with 21,000 genes in thousands of cell types in the human body. We have recently developed new approaches that could enable mapping this regulatory wiring at massive scale (see Fulco et al. Science 2016, Fulco et al. Nat Genet 2019, Nasser et al. Nature 2021), and applied these and other approaches to understand the genetic basis of congenital heart defects (Gifford et al. Science 2019, Schricker et al. Nature 2019, Ameen et al. bioRxiv 2022). We have now identified enhancers that contain disease variants that affect risk for congenital heart defects, and aim to study the functions of these enhancers in mouse models and human cardiac organoids. These studies will ultimately help to uncover biological mechanisms of congenital heart defects, and help to guide diagnosis and treatment for children with heart disease. For information and recent work, see https://www.caseygiffordlab.com, https://www.engreitzlab.org, and https://med.stanford.edu/base.html.

We are looking for a creative and passionate person at any stage in their career to lead management of our combined experimental/computational laboratory. The Gifford, Engreitz, and Qiu Laboratories are located adjacent to one another and provide a dynamic, interdisciplinary workplace with unique access to cutting edge technologies and scientific thought, with the potential for widespread recognition of scientific contributions. We value a diversity of values, backgrounds, and approaches to solving problems.

The candidate for this position should have hands-on experience in molecular biology, genomics, and cellular assay development; excellent organization, problem-solving, interpersonal, and collaboration skills; experience building or managing teams; outstanding verbal and written communication abilities; ability to adapt to and effectively manage changes in a fast paced and dynamic environment; and have a passion for science and sense of urgency to find new medicines to benefit patients. Candidates with or without prior laboratory management experience are welcome to apply. On-the-job training will be provided.

In addition to submitting your application via the Stanford web portal, please email your CV and cover letter directly to Profs. Casey Gifford (caseygifford@stanford.edu) and Jesse Engreitz (engreitz@stanford.edu).

Duties include:

• Make fundamental discoveries about gene regulation and the genetics of cardiovascular disease
• Together with PIs, oversee lab management including protocols, procedures, inventory, and training
• Develop and apply functional genomics techniques, including epigenomics, single-cell, imaging, and CRISPR-based assays in human cells and/or in vivo models of disease
• Train, mentor, and/or supervise lab members in experimental techniques, scientific design, and laboratory safety protocols
• Collaborate with a team of experimentalists and computational biologists
• Create scientifically rigorous visualizations, communications, and presentations of results
• Contribute to generation of protocols, publications, and intellectual property
• Coordinate ordering for all lab members and maintain a database to manage these orders. Ensure orders are placed and delivered in a timely manner
• Assist with budgeting and financial overviews, including compiling and reporting purchasing data and streamlining inventory and costs
• Develop organizational tools to improve productivity of lab
• Maintain and update laboratory protocols
• Oversee lab safety compliance and communicate with safety committees and groups, as well as participate in lab inspections.
• Coordinate the repair, evaluation, service contracts, calendar system, and annual certifications of lab equipment.
• Maintain a current chemical inventory.
• Oversee the maintenance of cold storage units, including liquid nitrogen.

• - Other duties may also be assigned.