Scientist, Developmental Biology

Colossal Biosciences•Dallas, TX

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Developmental Biologist works within mammalian species teams to design and conduct experiments that will inform genetic engineering for de-extinction projects. Leveraging their expertise in genetics and developmental biology, they will work closely with bioinformaticians to identify phenotype-relevant genetic pathways and variants and test the effect of those variants in embryonic, organoid, and cellular models. This position is based on-site in Dallas, TX. Relocation assistance is available

Requirements

Hands-on wet lab experience with mammalian fetal development, sampling and manipulation, such as electroporation or embryonic tissue transplantation, OR relevant experience in other fetal system
Strong working knowledge of gene regulatory networks in fetal development
Demonstrated success in preparing DNA and RNA from low-input or challenging tissues for multiomic assays (e.g., scRNA-seq, scATAC-seq, CUT&RUN/CUT&Tag/ChIP-seq)
Strong working knowledge of research methodology and study design; hypothesis testing; qualitative and quantitative data interpretation and application
Exceptional verbal and written communication skills
Demonstrated ability to take the initiative to move projects forward, make independent judgments, maintain accurate lab data, clearly understand and respond to experimental results, while communicating effectively
Ability to work independently and collaboratively, as required, in a fast-paced, matrixed, team environment consisting of internal and external team members
Analytical and creative thinker with excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to prioritize own work and adapt to changing team priorities
Excellent planning, organization and time management skills
Very high level of comfort with productivity and communication software platforms (MS Office, GSuite, Slack, digital notebooks, project management systems, etc.)
DVM/PHD in developmental biology, biological sciences, veterinary medicine, bioengineering, molecular biology, genetics, or any science related field is required
2+ years of wet lab research experience in developmental biology strongly preferred
2+ years of experience working with bioinformaticians or computational biologists on generating multiomic data sets strongly preferred

Responsibilities

Maintain expertise and familiarity with genetics and development literature
Microdissect defined substructures from stem cell niches that give rise to mineralized and cornified hard-tissue and soft-tissue epithelial-mesenchymal appendages
Stage, sample, and manipulate fetal and embryonic tissues and structures
Design, develop, and implement novel experiments, techniques, procedures, protocols, and systems in line with research program objectives for non-model animals
Build RNase-safe, low-input workflows from collection through library QC for multiomic data including bulk, single-cell, and spatial gene expression and chromatin conformation, state, and accessibility assays
Work closely with the bioinformatics team to identify genetic variants of interest
Process, image, and analyze fetuses of various stages using techniques such as fluorescent microscopy, whole mount skeletal staining and morphometrics
Contribute to, and be responsible for, documentation, reports, presentations and publications associated with work