Technical Lead, CRISPR Cures Beacon (9611C), Innovative Genomics Institute - 733

Technical Lead, CRISPR Cures Beacon (9611C), Innovative Genomics Institute - 73336 About Berkeley At the University of California, Berkeley, we are committed to creating a community that fosters equity of experience and opportunity, and ensures that students, faculty, and staff of all backgrounds feel safe, welcome, and included. Our culture of openness, freedom, and belonging makes it a special place for students, faculty, and staff. The University of California, Berkeley, is one of the world's leading institutions of higher education, distinguished by its combination of internationally recognized academic and research excellence; the transformative opportunity it provides to a large and diverse student body; its public mission and commitment to equity and social justice; and its roots in the California experience, animated by such values as innovation, questioning the status quo, and respect for the environment and nature. We are looking for equity-minded applicants who represent the full diversity of California and who demonstrate a sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnic backgrounds present in our community. At UC Berkeley, we believe that learning is a fundamental part of working, and our goal is for everyone on the Berkeley campus to feel supported and equipped to realize their full potential. We actively support this by providing all of our staff employees with at least 80 hours (10 days) of paid time per year to engage in professional development activities. Departmental Overview The Innovative Genomics Institute is a joint effort between the Bay Area's leading scientific research institutions, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco, with affiliates at UC Davis, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Gladstone Institutes, and other institutions. The IGI's diverse group of leading scientists have powerful interdisciplinary expertise. They conduct world-class research, driven by the real possibility of using genome engineering to treat human diseases, end hunger, and respond to climate change. Position Summary Reporting to the Director of the IGI-Danaher Beacon for CRISPR Cures, the SRA3 performs experimental work aimed at advancing to first-in-human clinical trials CRISPR-based approaches to treat inborn errors of immunity. Working in close partnership with physician-scientists leading the nonclinical efforts in the Beacon, the SRA3 is responsible for the design, prosecution, and analysis of experiments assessing the potency, specificity, and biological activity of candidate therapeutic gene editor compositions. Responsibilities Perform experiments in primary and transformed human cells to assess gene editor efficacy. Experimentally identify optimal cell husbandry conditions for gene editing experiments. Optimize tissue culture conditions for maximal viability post-gene editor transfer. Develop and perform cell phenotyping assays to evaluate physiological consequences of gene editing. Isolate cellular material (protein, RNA, DNA) for downstream analytics optimizing for yield and sample integrity. Perform experiments in primary and transformed human cells to assess gene editor safety. Optimize cell husbandry conditions for dose-response-curve experiments. Develop and deploy cell phenotyping assays to assess on-target engagement following gene editor delivery. Isolate nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) from gene-edited cell preparations. Prepare nucleic acid libraries for off-target assessment. Optimize and deploy computational procedures to determine genome/transcriptome-wide consequences of gene editing. Assess gene editing outcomes using established cell- and nucleic-acid-based analytical pipelines. Characterize the cells at the phenotypic level following introduction of gene editors into primary and transformed human cells. Extract nucleic acids from gene-edited cells and assess gene editing efficiency using NGS, ddPCR, and RT-qPCR methods. Design, develop, and prosecute novel analytical procedures to assess gene editing outcomes. Identify project-critical analytical endpoints required to address Agency feedback. Supervise junior personnel in prosecution of efficacy/safety/analytical studies. Prepare and present summaries of experiments performed and resulting data at project team meetings. Act as the lead technical writer on study reports for regulatory submissions to the FDA CBER. Required Qualifications Direct experience working in a cross-functional team setting developing a gene-editing-based therapeutic for a Mendelian disease, cancer, or infectious disease indication. Extensive hands-on experience with mammalian tissue culture, including primary/stem cells. Extensive hands-on experience with nucleic-acid-based assays in gene editing space (qPCR, NGS, ddPCR). Robust experience with cell phenotyping assays in gene editing space (FACS, microscopy). Extensive experience with visualization, analysis, and presentation of results in gene editing space. Bachelor of Science in Biology, MCB, BioE, or in related area and/or equivalent experience/training. Preferred Qualifications Experience with de novo development and optimization of analytical assays in cell/gene therapy space. Experience with laboratory automation as related to high-throughput execution of cell/molecular biological assays. Salary & Benefits This is a 100% full-time (40 hrs a week) exempt career position, which is paid monthly and eligible for UC Benefits. The budgeted annual salary that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $66,431.27 (Step 1) - $96,791.94 (Step 20).

#J-18808-Ljbffr