Lab Asst. 1

University of California, Irvine•Irvine, CA

7d•Onsite

About The Position

Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. To learn more about UC Irvine, visit www.uci.edu. In the La Spada laboratory, we apply the tools of molecular genetics, neuroscience, and functional genomics to understand the mechanisms of neurodegenerative disease. The repertoire of diseases being actively investigated in the lab include Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy, Spinocerebellar Ataxia Types 2 and 7, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and Huntington's Disease. We continue to investigate how transcription is regulated in the nervous system and dysregulated in disease, with our most recent work emphasizing single cell analysis. Complementing these molecular investigations are studies of cell-cell communication, including efforts aimed at understanding skeletal muscle – motor neuron interaction in motor neuron disease and the functional signaling occurring between neurons, astrocytes, and microglia in the CNS. Another significant emphasis has been on translational research and therapy development, with programs aimed at gene silencing of dominant disease protein expression (as successfully accomplished for SCA7), and focused upon the identification of small molecules intended to boost mitochondrial function, promote proteostasis, or inhibit mTORC1 activation, with lead compounds currently moving towards clinical testing in HD and SCA7. This position entails providing technical support for projects related to studying Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy (SBMA), Spinocerebellar Ataxia Types 2 and 7 (SCA2 and SCA7), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in the La Spada lab. Candidate will be responsible for maintaining induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) cultures, differentiating iPSCs into neurons, and performing downstream molecular biology assays.

Requirements

Proficiency in sterile technique.
Basic wet lab skills such as pipetting and buffer preparation
Biochemical analysis techniques (e.g., RNA/DNA purification, western blot, qRT-PCR)
Microscopy
iPSC maintenance and differentiation
1 year experience in a life science laboratory (academic or industry/biotech)
Must be able to provide proof of work authorization