Postdoctoral Research Associate - Structural Biology – Scott Blanchard Lab

The Blanchard laboratory in the Department of Structural Biology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral student with experience in molecular biology, biochemistry (preferably of membrane proteins) and quantitative biophysical and/or computational approaches to examine the molecular basis of GPCR signaling fidelity at single-molecule scale in order to accelerate a next-generation GPCR-targeting drug discovery program.

Our highly interdisciplinary, collaborative, mission-driven environment requires a creative, team-oriented individual with strong leadership skills, who would ensure the highest quality of operations to advance the lab’s, as well as St. Jude’s scientific mission.

The ideal candidate would be a recent PhD graduate (not more than 3 years ago) who is independently able to propose new hypotheses based on available literature, and design experiments and analyze data, with minimum supervision, to test specific hypotheses. Expert ability to distill, convey and present complex information in a clear and concise manner both verbally and in writing is essential, as well as passion to learn and navigate new research fields.

Responsibilities:

· Lead the experimental design, execution, and data analysis of biophysical studies characterizing GPCR structural dynamics with in vivo downstream signaling response.

· Engineer and isolate high-quality, homogeneous samples of GPCRs and signaling partners for ensemble and single-molecule analytical assays.

· Expand your technical skillset through expert-led training in smFRET imaging to perform experiments, analyze complex datasets, and develop quantitative models to explain GPCR signaling mechanisms.

· Work independently, leading a project from hypothesis to high-quality oral presentations and publications.

· Collaborate with an interdisciplinary group of researchers as part of a multi-institutional collaborative, including presentations to a broad audience.

· Train and mentor graduate students, postdocs and visiting scientists.

· Instruct other staff in basic laboratory techniques and procedures.

Minimum education:

· Ph.D in life science or other physical science.

Minimum Experience:

· 0-3 years of Post-PhD experience.

· Prior experience in GPCR signaling studies and/or single-molecule fluorescence analyses is highly preferred.

· Direct experience with isolation and functional characterization of GPCRs and their signaling partners (G-proteins, arrestins, GPCR kinases, etc.) is strongly preferred.

Selected Publications:

• Parallel stopped-flow interrogation of diverse biological systems at the single-molecule scale.

• Single-Molecule Imaging of Integral Membrane Protein Dynamics and Function.

• GPCR-mediated β-arrestin activation deconvoluted with single-molecule precision.

• Single-molecule analysis of ligand efficacy in β2AR-G-protein activation.

• Single-molecule FRET imaging of GPCR dimers in living cells

• Quantifying secondary transport at single-molecule resolution

• CFTR function, pathology and pharmacology at single-molecule resolution

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