UCLA’s Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics is seeking to fill a full-time Assistant Project Scientist position. The Assistant Project Scientist candidate will perform independent research under the supervision of Prof. Hong Zhou (PI) on work on federally funded basic research projects on AI-empowered cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM) and tomography (cryoET) of native cellular architectures and condensates involved in microbial infections.
Under the supervision of the PI, the Assistant Project Scientist will be part of cross-disciplinary team of investigators involved in developing and applying AI-empowered cryoEM and cryoET methods for atomic resolution structural studies of cellular and viral complexes and condensates involved in microbial infections. Such infections can be caused by viruses and protozoans. Responsibilities include recombinant protein expression, cell culture, complex isolation involving density gradient and size exclusion chromatography, cryoEM sample preparation with manual and Vitrobot plungers, focused ion beam milling of frozen cells, cryoEM and cryoET imaging using entry-level and high-end cryoEM instruments, data processing for atomic structure determination with custom-designed packages such as IsoNet, spIsoNet and cryoID, developing innovative data processing methods to tackle challenging problems.
Additional Duties:
• Oversee undergraduates, graduate students and other trainees in the laboratory.
• Coordinate inter-laboratory and inter-institutional collaboration projects.
• Preparation of manuscripts for publication in scientific journals.
• The candidate will be required to complete all appropriate safety training as mandated by the campus’s Environmental Health & Safety Office
Minimum Qualifications:
• Ph.D. (or equivalent) in Biology, Biochemistry, Biophysics or Molecular Biology
• A minimum of 8 years of experience in structural biology with publications (at least 5 years with cryoEM), and 2-years of experience in working with software coding involving advanced scripting.
• Candidate should have cryoEM experience in sample preparation, image processing and structure determination for atomic resolution single particle cryoEM.
• Candidate should have experience in recombinant DNA techniques, molecular biology techniques and sterile technique for cell culture and handling other biological materials (i.e. viruses) with BSL-2+ practices.
• Candidate should have extensive experience working with human viruses for its amplification and purification.