Hiring
We (Alexandre Zanghellini and ) are excited to announce that we have between 5-6 open postdoctoral fellow and scientist positions focused on protein design that we are looking to fill as soon as possible.
Alex has been tapped as St Jude Executive Fellow to launch the Protein Design Center at St Jude, and my lab (Kellogg lab) is launching a major initiative to use protein design to develop novel genome-editing tools. We already have success in some of these projects and many more in the pipeline, so we truly believe this is a very exciting opportunity for passionate, self-motivated, and ambitious protein design scientists and experimentalists. Our ambition is to translate these design projects into the clinic, and since St. Jude has a strong track record of bringing experimental therapeutics into the clinic we think this is the best possible place to be successful in this goal.
While we’re primarily interested in candidates with computational development experience, we also welcome those with practical design experience. St Jude offers competitive salaries and a higher base-rate for suitable candidates with compelling computational development experience. Since we moved here, we are continually impressed with the long-term vision and resources that St. Jude provides for ambitious scientists looking to change the world.
Please feel free to share/repost with whomever you think might be interested!
Position 1: Postdoctoral Fellow – Protein design applied to genome-editing, Kellogg lab
Be at the forefront of AI and protein design revolution (recognized by the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) and contribute to developing next generation genome-editing therapies for children. Top-tier compensation and benefits, supportive and collaborative team environment with strong mentoring opportunities and exciting potential for career advancement.
Ideal Candidates
• Are you passionate about innovative research that has the potential to dramatically improve patients’ lives and change the world?
• Are you excited to push the envelope in what AI-guided protein design can do in medicine?
• Do you love learning and developing innovative AI methodologies to engineer new proteins
• Are you motivated by a fast-paced collegial environment with a diversity of technical expertise and a strong emphasis on creative and rigorous science?
• Is open communication one of your strengths? Do you proactively address issues head on?
If you’ve answered “yes” to all of these, then we’d love to meet with you! But first, here a are more details about the role…
Job Description
Overview
The Kellogg lab is looking to hire multiple postdoctoral fellows in the area of computational protein design to expand their genome-editing research portfolio. We are looking for expertise in machine-learning method development or application to relevant protein design problems. Examples include diffusion models, large language models, or graph neural networks. Candidates should have a strong background in software/computation, lab bench experience is viewed as a plus.
Attributes of successful candidates:
• A desire to lead protein design programs from start to finish with a focus on successful outcomes
• Strong attention to details coupled with a deep understanding of (1) protein design algorithms and (2) protein structure and function
• A proactive, fast learner who can operate independently and possesses strong communication skills.
• A leader with a contagious ‘can-do’ attitude.
• Excellent organization and presentation skills coupled to a collaborative attitude.
Opportunities for Professional Growth
• You will have the opportunity to take an active role in leadership within the Kellogg lab as we grow further.
• As an integral and critical member of the Kellogg lab at St Jude, you will also be able to participate in internal meetings and interact with other groups and faculty at St Jude to advance applications of protein design. You will be working alongside with internationally recognized scientists who are leaders in such disciplines as AI/machine learning, protein engineering, cryo-EM/ET, NMR, single-molecule experiments and more.
• You will also collaborate with the wider community at St Jude, which is full of very smart, helpful, and fun individuals with unique and diverse scientific strengths.
• The candidate will be given opportunities to participate in interdisciplinary scientific research and be mentored in developing leadership skills.
• You will have opportunities to attend scientific conferences surrounding the fields of protein and systems design and get exposure to the biopharma industry.
About the Kellogg lab
The Kellogg lab uses cutting edge structural techniques, biochemistry, genetics, and protein design to develop novel genome-editing tools. By addressing key bottlenecks in current research, the Kellogg lab is a leader in the field (Science, 2023, Molecular Cell, 2023, Science, 2023, Nature, 2023, PNAS, 2022, Science, 2021, and more), and has generous support via: the NIH, Pew Biomedical Foundation, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to
develop novel approaches to engineer programmable transposons for clinical gene replacement therapy.
The Kellogg lab is a highly interdisciplinary scientific environment, routinely working with the Cryo-EM Center, the Protein Technology Center, the Single-Molecule Imaging Center, the Center for Advanced Genome Editing, and the Cell & Tissue Imaging Center. It is a scientifically enriching environment with regular CRISPR supergroup discussions (with Dr. Shengdar Tsai) and Cryo-EM supergroup meetings (with Dr. Mario Halic, Dr.
Ji Sun, and Dr. Chia-Hsueh Lee along with other Structural Biology faculty).
To virtually meet Dr. Kellogg, check out The Plunge, a Cryo-EM Podcast she and two colleagues hosted.
Dr. Kellogg was also recently featured on Cryo-Talk to talk about her life & work.
About St Jude
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital is consistently named as one of Fortune magazine’s “Best Companies to Work for” and top 10 “Best Places to Work in Academia” by the Scientist Magazine. St Jude is located in Memphis, Tennessee, the 28th most populous city in America. Memphis is a historic city with an affordable cost of living along with world class dining and strong cultural tradition in music and theater. Memphis enjoys a mild, sunny climate year-round and has some of the largest outdoor green spaces of any big city.
St. Jude Employees receive:
• St Jude offers a well-defined career ladder with potential for growth and advancement. Industry-competitive salaries are based on your degree and years of experience.
• Excellent healthcare plans with zero to low health premium costs.
• Generous retirement benefits with contributions from St. Jude.
• Onsite health clinic, pharmacy, and exercise facilities.
• Paid parental leave and adoption assistance.
• Immigration services.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• For a complete description of our benefits for this position, click here.
The Kellogg lab is committed to building a lab culture that is rooted in respect, diversity, and inclusion. This foundation promotes a dynamic, innovative, and impactful scientific environment driven by empathy and intellectual curiosity.
Minimum Requirements:
• PhD level in protein design & engineering with a strong emphasis in computational (Rosetta structure based design) and recent generative AI methods (AlphaFold, ROSETTAFold, ESM-3, LLMs etc) OR bioinformatics.
• A proven track record of success in protein design projects, from concept to experimental characterization.
Desired qualifications:
• Ph.D. degree in biochemistry, biophysics, bioengineering, structural biology or computer science with a
strong emphasis on computational and AI methods and/or bioinformatics.
• An outstanding academic and professional track record of achievement.
• Demonstrated experience in not only using but developing computational or AI protein design algorithms a strong plus
• Practical experience in experimental biochemistry, molecular biology, structural biology or biophysics a plus.
• Experience or interest in biotechnology industry desired.
• Independence, critical thinking, and experience with mentoring and collaborative interdisciplinary work is strongly valued.
This Position May be Suitable For:
• Recent graduates or postdocs from leading protein design academic labs
• Computational scientists with a desire to focus on computational protein design
• Scientists from the biotechnology industry that wish to marry academic research with translational opportunities in clinical genome-editing
To be considered, please email: Elizabeth.Kellogg@stjude.org with your C.V. and a brief statement describing research areas that you’d like to pursue as a postdoctoral fellow.
Position 2: Senior Scientist – Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Kellogg Lab
Be at the forefront of the gene editing revolution and contribute to developing next generation therapies for children. Top-tier compensation and benefits, supportive and collaborative team environment with unique opportunities and exciting potential for career advancement.
Job Description
Overview
As part of the Structural Biology Department at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the
Kellogg lab seeks a talented computational biologist who is looking to make high-impact
contributions on exciting challenges at the scientific frontier of genome-editing. The Kellogg lab uses cutting edge genetics, cryo-electron microscopy, machine-learning, and protein design to develop novel genome-editing tools. Located on the 6th floor of the new Inspiration4 Advanced Research Center (opened in 2021), the Kellogg lab leads the forefront of research in understanding the biology of CRISPR-associated transposons (Science, 2023, Molecular Cell, 2023, Science, 2023, Nature, 2023, PNAS, 2022, Science, 2021, and more) and is well supported by the NIH, Pew Biomedical Foundation, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to develop novel approaches to engineer programmable transposons for clinical gene replacement therapy. The Kellogg lab is a highly interdisciplinary scientific environment, routinely working with generously supported St.
Jude research core facilities: Cryo-EM Center, the Protein Technology Center, the Single-
Molecule Imaging Center, the Center for Advanced Genome Editing, and the Cell & Tissue
Imaging Center. The Kellogg lab is a scientifically enriching environment with regular CRISPR supergroup discussions with Dr. Shengdar Tsai. In addition, the Kellogg lab is an active member of RosettaCommons and the Rosetta community. In this position, the candidate will be exposed to multiple, cutting edge techniques spanning cryo-electron microscopy, computational protein design, machine learning, and advanced genomics in a world class research environment aimed at advancing cures for genetic disorders.
About you
The successful candidate will be an independent learner with strong critical thinking skills and excellent communication skills. We are looking for someone with an outstanding independent track-record and stellar academic background. The ideal candidate is passionate about research and committed to developing tomorrow’s cures for children with devastating genetic disorders.
Our ideal candidate has extensive experience in one of the following (or more): bioinformatic analyses (metagenomic mining is a major plus), reconstructing evolutionary trajectories, protein structure prediction, or computational protein design. Scientists are expected to operate independently by leading new research directions in the Kellogg lab. The candidate will be mentored in manuscript preparation and be given opportunities for career advancement via conference attendance and oral presentation sponsorship.
Responsibilities:
• Develop new research directions under close mentorship of Dr. Kellogg.
• Stay up to date with latest CRISPR and protein engineering literature, conduct regular
literature reviews in collaboration with Dr. Kellogg and other Kellogg lab members.
• Collaborate with other Kellogg lab members to design & clone large DNA libraries using
state of the art machine learning methods
• Map phylogenetic relationships of CRISPR-associated systems to map functional
interactions.
• Develop innovative sequence profile machine-learning based protein design pipelines in
collaboration with Dr. Kellogg
• Collaborate with Kellogg lab members to develop novel tools/assays to collectively
advance lab research goals.
• Mentor Kellogg lab members in executing internally developed computational analyses
and pipelines.
• Prepare manuscripts and present research at relevant conferences, including but not
limited to: CRISPR, genome-engineering, or protein design conferences.
Opportunities for Professional Growth
• The candidate will be given opportunities to participate in interdisciplinary scientific
research and be mentored in developing leadership skills.
• The candidate will be given opportunities to develop new skills, including experimental
biochemistry and/or structure determination in collaboration with Kellogg lab members.
• The candidate will be given opportunities to attend diverse scientific conferences in the
areas of computational protein design (including the Rosetta community), machine
learning, genome-editing, and transposon biology.
• The candidate will be given opportunities for oral presentations at local and national
venues as well as opportunities to develop independent research directions.
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital is consistently named as one of Fortune magazine’s “Best Companies to Work for” and top 10 “Best Places to Work in Academia” by the Scientist Magazine.
St Jude is located in Memphis, Tennessee, the 28th most populous city in America. Memphis is a historic city with an affordable cost of living along with world class dining and strong cultural tradition in music and theater. Memphis enjoys a mild, sunny climate year-round and has some of the largest outdoor green spaces of any big city.
St. Jude Employees receive:
• Competitive compensation packages commensurate with experience.
• Excellent healthcare plans with zero to low health premium costs.
• Generous retirement benefits with contributions from St. Jude
• Onsite health clinic, pharmacy, and exercise facilities.
• Paid parental leave and adoption assistance.
• Immigration Services
• Tuition Reimbursement
The Kellogg lab is committed to building a lab culture that is based on respect, diversity, and inclusion which contributes to a dynamic, innovative, and creative scientific environment that is fundamentally based on empathy and intellectual curiosity. The Kellogg lab is known for their rigor and fast pace, consistently aiming for ambitious goals that greatly expand the boundaries of human knowledge. The Kellogg lab is proud to be home to ambitious, curious, and fun-loving scientists of all nationalities and backgrounds.
Minimum Education
Ph.D. in a relevant scientific field is required.
Minimum Experience
• At least one first author publication from a reputable journal.
• Strong candidates from a related field (ancestral sequence reconstruction, genomics,
computational protein engineering, computational structure prediction, or CRISPR) are
encouraged to apply.
This Position May be Ideal For:
• Ph.D.s with post-degree experience looking to establish an experimental line of
inquiry prior to pursuing an independent research position.
• Experienced Computational Biologists looking for a stimulating, collaborative,
and interdisciplinary lab environment committed to creating tomorrow’s genome-
editing tools.
To virtually meet Dr. Kellogg, check out The Plunge, a Cryo-EM Podcast she and two
colleagues hosted. Dr. Kellogg was also recently featured on Cryo-Talk to talk about her life
& work.
To be considered, please email: Elizabeth.Kellogg@stjude.org with your C.V. and a brief statement describing research areas that you’d like to pursue as a postdoctoral fellow.
Position 3: Computational Protein Design Scientist – Center for Protein Design
Be at the forefront of AI and protein design revolution (recognized by the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) and contribute to developing next generation therapies for children. Top-tier
compensation and benefits, supportive and collaborative team environment with strong
mentoring opportunities and exciting potential for career advancement.
Ideal Candidates
• Are you passionate about innovative research that has the potential to dramatically
improve patients’ lives and change the world?
• Are you excited to push the envelope in what AI-guided protein design can do in
medicine?
• Do you love using and developing innovative AI methodologies to engineer new
proteins?
• Do you want to pursue new frontiers in systems level biological design (e.g. redesigning
metabolic and signaling networks in cells)?
• Are you motivated by a fast-paced collegial environment with a diversity of technical
expertise and a strong emphasis on creative and rigorous science?
• Is open communication one of your strengths? Do you proactively address issues head
on?
If you’ve answered “yes” to all of these, then we’d love to meet with you! But first, here are more details about the role…
Job Description
Overview
The newly opened Center for Protein Design at St Jude is looking to expand our world-class protein design team with an accomplished protein designer. As a scientist in the Center for Protein Design, you will be leading one or several research programs, spearheading computational design efforts to create proteins with new functions, developing AI methods for the advancement of your projects, and being directly involved with the experimental characterization of your designs.
Attributes of successful candidates:
• A desire to lead protein design programs from start to finish with a focus on successful
outcomes.
• Strong attention to details coupled with a deep understanding of (1) protein design
algorithms and (2) protein structure and function.
• A proactive, fast learner who can operate independently and possesses strong
communication skills.
• A leader with a contagious ‘can-do’ attitude.
• Excellent organization and presentation skills coupled to a collaborative attitude.
Opportunities for Professional Growth
• You will have the opportunity to take an active role in leadership within the Center for
Protein Design as it expands and grows.
• As an integral and critical member of the Center for Protein Design at St Jude, you will
also be able to participate in internal meetings and interact with other groups and faculty
at St Jude to advance applications of protein design. You will be working alongside
internationally recognized scientists who are leaders in such disciplines as AI/machine
learning (Dr. Madan Babu), NMR (Dr. Charalampos Kalodimos), cryo-EM/ET (Dr.
Elizabeth Kellogg and Dr. Georgios Skinio0s), single-molecule experiments (Dr. Scott
Blanchard) and more.
• You will also collaborate with the wider community at St Jude (such as the Departments
of Immunology, Host-Microbe Interactions, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and
Chemical Biology and Therapeutics), which is full of very smart, helpful, and fun
individuals with unique and diverse scientific strengths.
• The candidate will be given opportunities to participate in interdisciplinary scientific
research and be mentored in developing leadership skills.
• You will have opportunities to attend scientific conferences surrounding the fields of
protein and systems design such as the Gordon Research Conferences, RosettaCON and
SynBioBeta. Through extensive links that Dr. Zanghellini has nurtured with industry, you
will also get exposure to the biopharma and venture capital ecosystems.
About the Center for Protein Design
The Center for Protein Design is a new institutional center established in November 2024 and housed in the Center of Excellence for Data-Driven Discovery within the Structural Biology department at St Jude. The Center is led by Dr. Alexandre Zanghellini, Executive Fellow at St Jude. Dr. Zanghellini has 20 years of experience in protein design, including academia with Nobel Laureate Dr. David Baker, where his seminal contributions to the field of enzyme design were cited more than 3000 times, and in industry as CEO of Arzeda, a venture-backed protein design company he co-founded that translates protein design innovations into successful commercial products.
The Center for Protein Design’s mission is to advance our understanding of protein structure-function relationships to design proteins and cell therapies that restore hope against catastrophic pediatric diseases. We use cutting edge deep-learning, biophysics and experimental approaches to develop new functional proteins for protein and cell therapies, including enzyme therapeutics, gene editing systems and CAR-T cell engineering. The Center is also pushing the boundary in new methodology development in computational protein design, leveraging the large amount of data that is generated by various groups and departments at St Jude.
As an institutional center, the Center for Protein Design collaborates across many departments at St Jude such as Structural Biology, Immunology, Host-Microbe Interactions, and Pharmacology.
The Center for Protein Design is a highly interdisciplinary environment which marries basic
science with a strong translational component, leveraging St Jude Research Hospital cGMP
manufacturing and clinical expertise.
About St Jude
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital is consistently named as one of Fortune magazine’s “Best Companies to Work for” and top 10 “Best Places to Work in Academia” by the Scientist Magazine.
St Jude is located in Memphis, Tennessee, the 28th most populous city in America. Memphis is a historic city with an affordable cost of living along with world class dining and strong cultural tradition in music and theater. Memphis enjoys a mild, sunny climate year-round and has some of the largest outdoor green spaces of any big city.
St. Jude Employees receive:
• St Jude offers a well-defined career ladder with potential for growth and advancement.
Industry-competitive salaries are based on your degree and years of experience.
• Excellent healthcare plans with zero to low health premium costs.
• Generous retirement benefits with contributions from St. Jude.
• Onsite health clinic, pharmacy, and exercise facilities.
• Paid parental leave and adoption assistance.
• Immigration services.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• For a complete description of our benefits for this position, click here.
The Center for Protein Design is committed to building a lab culture that is rooted in respect, diversity, and inclusion. This foundation promotes a dynamic, innovative, and impactful scientific environment driven by empathy and intellectual curiosity.
Minimum Requirements:
• PhD in biochemistry, biophysics, bioengineering, structural biology or computer science
with a strong emphasis in computational protein design (Rosetta structure-based design)
and recent generative AI methods (AlphaFold, RoseTTAFold, ESM-3, LLMs etc).
• A proven track record of success in protein design projects, from concept to experimental
characterization.
Desired qualifications:
• An outstanding academic and professional track record of achievement.
• Demonstrated experience in not only using but also developing computational or AI protein
design algorithms is a strong plus.
• Practical experience in experimental biochemistry, molecular biology, structural biology
or biophysics is a plus.
• Experience or interest in biotechnology industry.
• Independence, critical thinking, and experience with mentoring and collaborative
interdisciplinary work is strongly valued.
This Position May be Suitable For:
• Recent graduates or postdocs from leading protein design academic labs.
• Computational scientists with a desire to focus on computational protein design.
• Scientists from the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry that wish to marry academic
research with translational opportunities in translational biologics drug development.
To be considered, please contact alexandre.zanghellini@stjude.org. Applications will be considered until position is filled.
Position 4: Experimental Protein Scientist / Biochemist – Center for Protein Design
Be at the forefront of AI and protein design revolution (recognized by the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) and contribute to developing next generation therapies for children. Top-tier
compensation and benefits, supportive and collaborative team environment with strong
mentoring opportunities and exciting potential for career advancement.
Ideal Candidates
• Are you passionate about innovative research that has the potential to dramatically
improve patients’ lives and change the world?
• Are you excited to push the envelope in what AI-guided protein design can do in
medicine?
• Do you love developing and conducting challenging protein functional assays, striving
for efficiency and automation?
• Do you want to pursue new frontiers in systems level biological design (e.g. redesigning
metabolic and signaling networks in cells)?
• Are you motivated by a fast-paced collegial environment with a diversity of technical
expertise and a strong emphasis on creative and rigorous science?
• Is open communication one of your strengths? Do you proactively address issues head
on?
If you’ve answered “yes” to all of these, then we’d love to meet with you! But first, here are more details about the role…
Job Description
Overview
The newly opened Center for Protein Design at St Jude is looking to expand our world-class team with an accomplished scientist. As a biochemist in the Center for Protein Design, you will be leading the experimental side of several protein design research programs, including devising and executing accurate and high-throughput assays to validate proteins with new functions in-vitro and in-vivo. Working hand-in-hand with our computational protein design team, you will play a critical scientific leadership role in protein design projects, from the conceptual to the validation and translational phases. As the Center for Protein Design continues to grow, you will also have the opportunity to participate in the development of a state-of-the-art roboticized platform for the expression and characterization of our designer proteins at high-throughput.
Attributes of successful candidates:
• A desire to actively participate in computational protein design research programs from
start to finish with a focus on successful outcomes.
• Exceptional biochemical skills with a strong attention to details and perseverance to
obtain solid experimental results.
• A proactive, fast learner who can operate independently and possesses strong
communication skills.
• A leader (vs. follower) with a contagious ‘can-do’ attitude.
• Excellent organization and presentation skills coupled to a collaborative attitude.
Opportunities for Professional Growth
• You will have the opportunity to take an active role in leadership within the Center for
Protein Design as it expands and grows.
• As an integral and critical member of the Center for Protein Design at St Jude, you will
also be able to participate in internal meetings and interact with other groups and faculty
at St Jude to advance applications of protein design. You will be working alongside
internationally recognized scientists who are leaders in such disciplines as AI/machine
learning (Dr. Madan Babu), NMR (Dr. Charalampos Kalodimos), cryo-EM/ET (Dr.
Elizabeth Kellogg and Dr. Georgios Skinio0s), single-molecule experiments (Dr. Scott
Blanchard) and more.
• You will also collaborate with the wider community at St Jude (such as the Departments
of Immunology, Host-Microbe Interactions, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and
Chemical Biology and Therapeutics), which is full of very smart, helpful, and fun
individuals with unique and diverse scientific strengths.
• The candidate will be given opportunities to participate in interdisciplinary scientific
research and be mentored in developing leadership skills.
• You will have opportunities to attend scientific conferences surrounding the fields of
protein and systems design such as the Gordon Research Conferences, RosettaCON and
SynBioBeta. Through extensive links that Dr. Zanghellini has nurtured with industry, you
will also get exposure to the biopharma and venture capital ecosystems.
About the Center for Protein Design
The Center for Protein Design is a new institutional center established in November 2024 and housed in the Center of Excellence for Data-Driven Discovery within the Structural Biology department at St Jude. The Center is led by Dr. Alexandre Zanghellini, Executive Fellow at St Jude. Dr. Zanghellini has 20 years of experience in protein design, including academia with Nobel Laureate Dr. David Baker, where his seminal contributions to the field of enzyme design were cited more than 3000 times, and in industry as CEO of Arzeda, a venture-backed protein design company he co-founded that translates protein design innovations into successful commercial products.
The Center for Protein Design’s mission is to advance our understanding of protein structure-function relationships to design proteins and cell therapies that restore hope against catastrophic pediatric diseases. We use cutting edge deep-learning, biophysics and experimental approaches to develop new functional proteins for protein and cell therapies, including enzyme therapeutics, gene editing systems and CAR-T cell engineering. The Center is also pushing the boundary in new methodology development in computational protein design, leveraging the large amount of data that is generated by various groups and departments at St Jude.
As an institutional center, the Center for Protein Design collaborates across many departments at St Jude such as Structural Biology, Immunology, Host-Microbe Interactions, and Pharmacology.
The Center for Protein Design is a highly interdisciplinary environment which marries basic
science with a strong translational component, leveraging St Jude Research Hospital cGMP
manufacturing and clinical expertise.
About St Jude
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital is consistently named as one of Fortune magazine’s “Best Companies to Work for” and top 10 “Best Places to Work in Academia” by the Scientist Magazine.
St Jude is located in Memphis, Tennessee, the 28th most populous city in America. Memphis is a historic city with an affordable cost of living along with world class dining and strong cultural tradition in music and theater. Memphis enjoys a mild, sunny climate year-round and has some of the largest outdoor green spaces of any big city.
St. Jude Employees receive:
• St Jude offers a well-defined career ladder with potential for growth and advancement.
Industry-competitive salaries are based on your degree and years of experience.
• Excellent healthcare plans with zero to low health premium costs.
• Generous retirement benefits with contributions from St. Jude.
• Onsite health clinic, pharmacy, and exercise facilities.
• Paid parental leave and adoption assistance.
• Immigration services.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• For a complete description of our benefits for this position, click here.
The Center for Protein Design is committed to building a lab culture that is rooted in respect, diversity, and inclusion. This foundation promotes a dynamic, innovative, and impactful scientific environment driven by empathy and intellectual curiosity.
Minimum Requirements:
• PhD level in biochemistry or protein science.
• A proven track record in DNA cloning, protein expression and purification, assay
development (LC/GC-MS, HPLC, Spectrophotometry).
Desired qualifications:
• Previous experience in protein design & engineering is strongly favored.
• Experience with yeast, phage or ribosome display or development of high-throughput
screens and selection systems in bacterial or mammalian cells is a strong plus.
• An outstanding academic and professional track record of achievements.
• Biotechnology industry experience, especially with the development of automation and
data management systems is a strong plus.
• Independence, critical thinking, and experience with mentoring and collaborative
interdisciplinary work is also strongly valued.
This Position May be Suitable For:
• Recent graduates or postdocs from leading biochemistry, enzymology and protein science
academic labs.
• Scientists from the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry that wish to marry academic
research with translational opportunities in biologics drug development.
To be considered, please contact alexandre.zanghellini@stjude.org. Applications will be considered until position is filled.
Position 5: Lab Manager – Center for Protein Design
Be at the forefront of AI and protein design revolution (recognized by the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) and contribute to developing next generation therapies for children. Top-tier compensation and benefits, supportive and collaborative team environment with strong mentoring opportunities and exciting potential for career advancement.
Ideal Candidates
• Are you passionate about innovative research that has the potential to dramatically improve patients’lives and change the world?
• Are you excited to push the envelope in what AI-guided protein design can do in medicine?
• Are you naturally organized and structured? Do you enjoy creating processes that improve efficiency and productivity?
• Are you motivated by “Team”? Is your success your colleagues success?
• Is open communication one of your strengths? Do you proactively address issues head on?
If you’ve answered “yes” to all of these, then we’d love to meet with you! But first, here a are more details about the role…
Job Description
Overview
The Center for Protein Design at St Jude seeks a proactive and organized Lab Manager with strong communication skills to build and maintain lab operations, ensuring it runs smoothly while fostering an inclusive, supportive, and welcoming environment for all Center members.
Attributes of successful candidates:
• A proactive, fast learner who can operate independently and possesses strong communication skills.
• A leader with a contagious ‘can-do’ attitude.
• Excellent organization skills and a collaborative attitude.
• Strong biochemistry technique with experience performing recombinant protein production, low and high-throughput enzyme assays, protein-protein binding measurements, and standard molecular cloning procedures (or equivalent).
• Experience with cell-free expression, deep sequencing (NGS), FACS, liquid handling (Biomek or equivalent) and lab automation are a plus.
Responsibilities:
Scientific Operations (70%):
• Work to build up lab operations for the Center for Protein Design through assisting with equipment purchase, installation and maintenance, and hiring processes related to lab operations.
• Develop and establish strategies and processes to streamline lab organization, inventory, and ordering while also developing and maintaining standard lab operation protocols and procedures.
• Maintain and operate the Center for Protein Design lab equipment
• The lab manager may be asked to participate in mentoring technicians and junior scientists.
Scientific Research (30%):
• Lead new research directions in in vitro and in vivo assays for protein design.
• Record experimental observations, present results, and collaborate with multiple computational and experimental scientists in the Center for Protein Design.
Opportunities for Professional Growth
• You will have the opportunity to help build the lab for the Center of Protein Design, as well as develop and optimize lab workflows and define exacting lab standards.
• As an integral and critical member of the Center for Protein Design at St Jude, you will also be able to participate in internal meetings and interact with other groups and faculty at St Jude to advance applications of protein design. You will be working alongside internationally recognized scientists who are leaders in such disciplines as AI/machine learning (Dr. Madan Babu), NMR (Dr. Charalampos Kalodimos), cryo-EM/ET (Dr. Elizabeth Kellogg and Dr. Georgios Skinio0s), single-molecule experiments
(Dr. Scott Blanchard) and more.
• You will also collaborate with the wider community at St Jude (such as the Departments of Immunology, Host-Microbe Interactions, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Chemical Biology and Therapeutics), which is full of very smart, helpful, and fun individuals with unique and diverse scientific strengths.
• The candidate will be given opportunities to develop new skills, including but not limited to machine learning, AI and translational aspects of protein design.
• The candidate will be given opportunities to participate in interdisciplinary scientific research and be mentored in developing leadership skills.
• You will have opportunities to attend scientific conferences surrounding the fields of protein design and biochemistry technique.
About the Center for Protein Design
The Center for Protein Design is a new institutional center established in November 2024 and housed in the Center of Excellence for Data-Driven Discovery within the Structural Biology department at St Jude. The Center is led by Dr. Alexandre Zanghellini, Executive Fellow at St Jude. Dr. Zanghellini has 20 years of experience in protein design, including academia with Nobel Laureate Dr. David Baker, where his seminal contributions to the field of enzyme design were cited more than 3000 times, and in industry as CEO of Arzeda, a venture-backed protein design company he co-founded that translates protein design innovations into successful commercial products.
The Center for Protein Design’s mission is to advance our understanding of protein structure-function relationships to design proteins and cell therapies that restore hope against catastrophic pediatric diseases. We use cutting edge deep-learning, biophysics and experimental approaches to develop new functional proteins for protein and cell therapies, including enzyme therapeutics, gene editing systems and CAR-T cell engineering. The
Center is also pushing the boundary in new methodology development in computational protein design, leveraging the large amount of data that is generated by various groups and departments at St Jude.
As an institutional center, the Center for Protein Design collaborates across many departments at St Jude such as Structural Biology, Immunology, Host-Microbe Interactions, and Pharmacology. The Center for Protein Design is a highly interdisciplinary environment which marries basic science with a strong translational component, leveraging St Jude Research Hospital cGMP manufacturing and clinical expertise.
About St Jude
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital is consistently named as one of Fortune magazine’s “Best Companies to Work for” and top 10 “Best Places to Work in Academia” by the Scientist Magazine. St Jude is located in Memphis, Tennessee, the 28th most populous city in America. Memphis is a historic city with an affordable cost of living along with world class dining and strong cultural tradition in music and theater. Memphis enjoys a mild, sunny climate year-round and has some of the largest outdoor green spaces of any big city.
St. Jude Employees receive:
• St Jude offers a well-defined career ladder with potential for growth and advancement. Industry-competitive salaries are based on your degree and years of experience.
• Excellent healthcare plans with zero to low health premium costs.
• Generous retirement benefits with contributions from St. Jude.
• Onsite health clinic, pharmacy, and exercise facilities.
• Paid parental leave and adoption assistance.
• Immigration services.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• For a complete description of our benefits for this position, click here.
The Center for Protein Design is committed to building a lab culture that is rooted in respect, diversity, and inclusion. This foundation promotes a dynamic, innovative, and impactful scientific environment driven by empathy and intellectual curiosity.
Minimum Requirements:
• Bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, protein engineering, synthetic biology, molecular biology, bioengineering, or related discipline.
• 3 years of relevant professional experience in biochemistry, protein engineering, high-throughput methods, or related disciplines.
Desired qualifications:
• Ph.D. degree in biochemistry, molecular biology or related discipline with experience working in a protein engineering environment.
• Experience in biotechnology industry and with lab automation a strong plus.
• An outstanding academic and professional track record of achievement.
• Experience with managing and mentoring wet lab-oriented researchers.
This Position May be Suitable For:
• Graduates with strong biochemistry research experience and leadership qualities looking for growth opportunities.
• Experienced protein engineers or synthetic biologists passionate about lab operations.
• Protein engineering or synthetic biology professionals interested in switching from industry to an academic environment focused on curiosity driven science and interdisciplinary research.
To be considered, please contact alexandre.zanghellini@stjude.org. Applications will be considered until position is filled.
