Post Doctorate Fellow, Functionalizing Cardiac Genes with Pooled Genetic Screens

Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and with offices in Boston, Massachusetts, and Dublin, Ireland, Ionis has been at work for more than three decades discovering medical breakthroughs that have redefined life for people with serious diseases. We’re pioneers in RNA-targeted medicines, and our platform continues to revolutionize drug discovery and transform lives for patients with unmet needs.  With multiple marketed medicines and a leading pipeline in neurology, cardiology and select areas of high patient needs, we continue to drive innovation in RNA therapies in addition to advancing new approaches in gene editing to provide greater value to patients and are well positioned financially to deliver on our strategic goals.

At Ionis, we pride ourselves on cultivating a challenging, motivating and rewarding environment that fosters innovation and scientific excellence. We know that our success is a direct result of the exceptional talents and dedication of our employees. 

With an unprecedented opportunity to change the course of human health, we look to add diverse individuals, skill sets and perspectives to our exceptional team. We continue to invest time, money and energy into making our onsite, hybrid and remote work environments a place where solid and lasting relationships are built and where our culture and employees can thrive. 

We’re building on our rich history, and we believe our greatest achievements are ahead of us. If you’re passionate about the opportunity to have meaningful impact on patients in need, we invite you to apply and join us. Experience and contribute to our unique culture while you develop and expand your career!

Functionalizing Cardiac Genes with Pooled Genetic Screens

SUMMARY: We are seeking a highly motivated and highly productive Postdoctoral Fellow to lead an exciting project applying singe-cell genomics and high throughput pooled perturbation screens to identify novel therapeutic targets for heart failure. This role offers a unique opportunity to gain deep research experience in a fast-paced industry environment while advancing next-generation RNA medicines. The successful candidate will work with internal team members and external partners to design, implement and analyze pooled genetic screens in cardiac cells to assign phenotypes to genes with previously unknown functions and prioritize targets within biological pathways of interest. The project will involve strategic planning, viral vector design, in vitro stem cell modelling of cardiovascular disease, bulk- and single cell-sequencing and analysis of transcriptomic and perturbation data.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

•  Optimize lentiviral vector and targeted library design and delivery to cardiac cells.
•  Perform targeted genetic perturbation screens in immortalized and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) -derived cardiac cells.
•  Design and execute in vitro studies to validate newly identified targets in relevant models.
•  Analyze and interpret highly dimensional datasets to pinpoint actionable targets and pathways driving cardiomyocyte dysfunction in heart failure.
•  Document experimental results and communicate clear, concise findings through regular internal presentations, writing manuscripts for scientific publications, and in external scientific conferences.
•  Collaborate closely with computational biologists, geneticists, and cardiovascular physiologists to dissect disease-relevant gene networks and help identify novel therapeutic targets for heart failure.
•  Demonstrate professionalism and uphold the company’s culture, core principles, and collaborative working norms.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Ph.D. in RNA biology, genetics, molecular biology, bioengineering, or a closely related field with 0-3 years
• Experience and/or familiarity with CRISPR-Cas9 genetic perturbations, pooled screening, RNA/DNA-sequencing and single cell RNA-seq and supporting bioinformatics tools.
• Cell culture experience including immortalized and iPSC-derived or primary cells.
•  In vivo rodent disease model experience or willingness to learn.
• Familiarity with molecular techniques (e.g., plasmid design/cloning, RNA/DNA isolation, qPCR, NGS library construction)
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to design experiments independently
• Ability to work effectively in a matrixed, multidisciplinary team environment
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for publication and presentation
•  Ability or familiarity with tools to analyze large datasets (e.g., scRNA-seq, transcriptomics, pooled CRISPR screens with R/Python using Jupyter notebooks) is a plus
• Strong background in iPSC cardiomyocyte differentiation, culture optimization, phenotypic assays or cardiovascular physiology is a plus
•  Required to be full-time onsite at Carlsbad, CA

Please visit our website, www.ionis.com for more information about Ionis and to apply for this position; reference requisition #IONIS003823

Ionis offers an excellent benefits package, including a competitive salary, health and dental insurance, and a relocation compensation! Follow this link for more details: Ionis Benefits

Full Benefits Link: https://www.ionis.com/careers/working-at-ionis/#:~:text=to Applicants »-,Benefits,-Employees are rewarded

The pay scale for this position is $65,000 to $87,000

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Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and all its subsidiaries are proud to be EEO employers.

Salary : $65,000 - $87,000