Postdoctoral Associate, Mammalian Synthetic Biology

MIT • Cambridge, MA

2d

About The Position

to join an interdisciplinary academic research lab focused on creating integrated biological systems capable of autonomously performing useful tasks and elucidating design principles for engineering complex cellular and tissue phenotypes; design, build, and test mammalian synthetic gene circuits, including sensing modules (e.g., RNA/miRNA/metabolite-responsive elements), logic/control elements, and output programs that drive measurable cellular behaviors; engineer and maintain mammalian cell lines; perform genome engineering and targeted integration workflows; validate engineered lines using standard molecular and cellular assays; and plan and execute experiments to characterize circuit performance using flow cytometry, microscopy, RT-qPCR, sequencing-based readouts, ELISA, and related methods.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in biological sciences, computer science, engineering, physics, math, or a related field
• experience in a minimum of the following—mammalian cell culture and differentiation, iPSC engineering, large-scale DNA assembly and characterization, genetic recombination and site-specific genome integration (e.g., CRISPR/Cas9, RMCE), next-generation sequencing, computational methods/tools for analysis, and statistics
• background in molecular biology, synthetic biology, protein engineering, immunology, and/or cell biology
• demonstrated ability to design and execute rigorous experiments and detailed protocols
• strong organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and documentation skills
• ability to manage multiple priorities and work both independently and collaboratively in a dynamic, multidisciplinary environment
• excellent written and verbal communication skills, including presenting research through talks and publications

Nice To Haves

• Experience designing and validating mammalian genetic circuits that sense cell state (e.g., mRNA/miRNA) and/or use recombinase- or CRISPR-based control strategies
• proficiency in common characterization methods (e.g., flow cytometry, RT-qPCR, NGS-based readouts)
• experience working in milestone-driven, team-based research programs and contributing to manuscripts, reports, and sponsor-facing presentations

Responsibilities

• design, build, and test mammalian synthetic gene circuits, including sensing modules (e.g., RNA/miRNA/metabolite-responsive elements), logic/control elements, and output programs that drive measurable cellular behaviors
• engineer and maintain mammalian cell lines
• perform genome engineering and targeted integration workflows
• validate engineered lines using standard molecular and cellular assays
• plan and execute experiments to characterize circuit performance using flow cytometry, microscopy, RT-qPCR, sequencing-based readouts, ELISA, and related methods

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees