Senior Research Scientist in Epigenetics

Company overview

The people of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) are united by a singular mission: ending cancer for life. Our specialized care teams provide personalized, compassionate, expert care to patients of all ages. Informed by basic research done at our Sloan Kettering Institute, scientists across MSK collaborate to conduct innovative translational and clinical research that is driving a revolution in our understanding of cancer as a disease and improving the ability to prevent, diagnose, and treat it. MSK is dedicated to training the next generation of scientists and clinicians, who go on to pursue our mission at MSK and around the globe. One of the world’s most respected comprehensive centers devoted exclusively to cancer, we have been recognized as one of the top two cancer hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report for more than 30 years.

In compliance with applicable State regulatory authorities, COVID-19 vaccination is mandatory for all MSK staff. Staff are considered fully vaccinated upon completion of a primary vaccination series for COVID-19 (i.e., one dose of a single dose vaccine or a final dose of a multi-dose vaccine series). Exceptions from the COVID-19 vaccine requirement are permitted for those who request and receive an approved medical or fully remote exemption.  Requests for medical exemption can take up to two weeks to review. Vaccination or an approved medical exemption is required to start work.

*Staff working at a MSK New Jersey location must be up to date with COVID-19 vaccination, which includes having completed the primary COVID-19 vaccination series and booster once eligible as mandated by New Jersey State. All New Jersey staff not yet eligible for a booster must receive a booster within 3 weeks of becoming eligible as a condition of continued employment at MSK.

Note: Individuals are eligible to receive a COVID-19 booster two months after completion of a primary vaccination series for COVID-19.  Because vaccine-induced immunity can wane over time, MSK continues to strongly urge all staff to get a COVID-19 booster as soon as they become eligible to maintain their protective immunity for a longer period.

Job details

The Center for Epigenetics Research is seeking a highly motivated and successful individual with a background in epigenetics and molecular biology. As a Senior Research Scientist within the Center for Epigenetics Research (https://www.mskcc.org/research-programs/epigenetics-research), for leadingthe technology development effort ofthe Innovation Laboratory. The core mission of this group is to develop new experimental methodologies in epigenetics research and implement these and existing technologies. The group will work in close collaboration with clinicians and scientists at MSK, as well the computational biology and genome analysis group in the Center for Epigenetics research. This position involves the oversight and training of laboratory staff at the M.S. and Ph.D. levels and requires the ability to define and articulate new research directions and experimental approaches. In addition to overseeing day-to-day operations in the laboratory, this role requires a broad base of technical knowledge regarding existing methods in epigenetics research as well as the ability to creatively invent and customize new ones. The senior research scientist will work closely with leadership, experimental and computational biologists, and technical staff in the Center.

You will:

• Lead and manage laboratory staff
• Interview, hire, orient, and train new laboratory staff
• Delegate work to staff to meet center goals and requirements
• Work with laboratory staff and the director to define and articulate research directions, new techniques, and laboratory procedures for the Innovation Lab
• Attend management technique or other leadership classes as referred by supervisor
• Evaluate and determine the benchmarking needed and the metrics required for building and monitoring the experimental procedures
• As leader of the Innovation Lab, meet with other project leaders to design and execute project enhancements that allow for maximal integration of techniques and staff expertise
• Assist in grant writing
• Work with Lab Managers and Project Managers to determine the metrics needed to assess quality of and need for updating laboratory procedures
• Work with the Computational group to synergize the experimental procedures with the computational analysis
• Evaluate the novelty of newly designed methods regarding patentability and potential intellectual property
• Ensure data migration occurs in an efficient and timely manner with regard to the needs of core members and collaborators
• Aid in the development of the laboratory portion of chargeback for internal and external projects along with other center leadership and director
• Implement and optimize commonly used methodologies for epigenetics research to address: gene expression (RNAseq, GRO-seq), histone modifications (ChlP-seq, native ChIP-seq, CUT&RUN, CUT&Tag), chromatin accessibility (ATAC-seq, MNase-seq), DNA methylation (bisulfite-seq, EM-seq), chromatin organization (HiC-techniques), and single cell approaches (SHARE-seq, Paired-tag, …)
• Provide consultation and guidance to research scientists and other members of the Center
• Guide researchers in choosing the right method for addressing a specific question and train them in sample handling and experimental procedures
• Assist collaborators with experimental protocols and development of those

The ideal candidate should have:

• Doctorate/PhD (at least 3-4 years of experience at Postdoc level)
• Extensive hands-on knowledge and experience with the most common high throughput epigenomics profiling techniques such as ChIP-seq, CUT&RUN, ATAC-seq, Bisulfite sequencing and others
• Broad experience in molecular biology techniques
• Excellent knowledge about epigenetics research
• Strong analytical skills
• Excellent communication skills, ability to work collaboratively and effectively
• Skills in computational biology is a plus
• Experience in mentoring and training is a big plus

If you have any questions about this job opportunity, please contact:

Pierre-Jacques Hamard, Ph.D.

Manager, Epigenetics Innovation Research Lab

HamardP@mskcc.org

Salary: $74,263 – $110,000

Application Process