Join an excellent team of researchers dedicated to coming closer to the mission of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, that no child will die at the dawn of life. The QAI4Bio (Quantum AI for Biology) Lab led by Dr. Christoph Gorgulla within the Center of Excellence for Data-Driven Discovery in the Structural Biology Department of St. Jude seeks a skilled and highly motivated wet lab Scientist with experience in ligand discovery.

Our research group is focused on developing state-of-the-art computational methods for ligand/drug discovery, using machine learning, high-performance/cloud computing, quantum chemistry and quantum computing. Our lab also includes a wet lab dedicated to experimentally verifying the computationally predicted results in real-world drug discovery projects.

As a (wet lab) Scientist, you will play a pivotal role in our team. This position is at the frontier of drug discovery, focusing to a large extend on the experimental validation of protein-ligand interactions. We will be targeting proteins associated with a range of areas, including epigenetic regulation, cancer, and healthy aging/longevity. You will work on producing high-quality proteins, designing and performing binding assays by biophysical methods (SPR, MST, ITC, BLI) or Fluorescence-based (i.e. FP, TR-FRET) methods, and optimizing workflows for ligand discovery. Depending on your skills, you might also work on structural studies (NMR, X-ray, cryo-EM, ...) and use the state-of-the-art core facilities and centers dedicated to structural studies at St. Jude. In your role as lab manager you will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the wet lab. Our lab is new, and you will be the first full-time team member in our wet lab. In addition, there is the "dry lab" where the computational/theoretical researchers will be located.

In our lab, you will have the opportunity to lead collaborative projects, mentor junior scientists and students, and contribute to high-impact publications. Collaboration is at the heart of our work, and you will closely work with our computational and other wet-lab colleagues to validate and experimentally verify the predicted hit and lead compounds. By working together in a collaborative and intellectually stimulating environment, you will have the opportunity to contribute to multiple ligand/drug discovery projects and make a lasting impact on the lives of children and the world.

What we're looking for

High-throughput binding assays and screening automation for drug discovery

We are especially interested in candidates with deep hands-on expertise in developing and executing binding assays for ligand discovery. The ideal candidate has experience designing assay workflows for small-molecule screening, hit confirmation, affinity and kinetic characterization, counter-screening, and assay troubleshooting.

A strong candidate should be comfortable not only running assays manually, but also adapting assays to high-throughput and semi-automated formats using liquid-handling robots, plate readers, automated dispensing systems, or related screening platforms.

Relevant expertise includes:

• Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) for binding validation, affinity ranking, kinetics, and mechanism-of-binding analysis
• Plate-based fluorescence assays such as FP, TR-FRET/HTRF, fluorescence intensity, or related high-throughput formats
• Use of automation platforms for assay setup, compound handling, serial dilution, reagent dispensing, plate-based screening, and data-quality control
• Other biophysical or biochemical binding technologies such as BLI, MST, DSF/nanoDSF, ITC, AlphaScreen/AlphaLISA, or related approaches
• Assay development, optimization, validation, controls, reproducibility, Z-factor/statistical quality assessment, and artifact/counter-screen design

Protein expression and purification

Experience producing high-quality recombinant proteins for biochemical and biophysical assays is important, especially in bacterial, insect, and/or mammalian expression systems. Experience with challenging targets, membrane proteins, multi-domain proteins, or protein complexes is preferred.

Structural biology (preferred, not required)

Experience with structural methods is a plus, especially cryo-EM or X-ray crystallography. However, structural biology expertise is not required for this position. The priority is strong experimental ligand-discovery capability, with access to world-class structural biology core facilities at St. Jude.

Minimum Education and/or Training:

• Bachelor's degree in relevant scientific area is required.

Minimum Experience:

• Eight (8) years of relevant work experience is required with a Bachelor's degree.
• Six (6) years of relevant work experience is required with a Master's degree.
• Three (3) years of relevant work experience is required with a PhD.

Compensation
In recognition of certain U.S. state and municipal pay transparency laws, St. Jude is including a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This is an estimate offered in good faith and a specific salary offer takes into account factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the salary range and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current salary range is $86,320 - $154,960 per year for the role of Wet Lab Scientist - Ligand Discovery in Gorgulla Lab.

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