Lead or Senior Scientist - Genome Editing, Genomics, Biotechnology (Shengdar Q. Tsai Lab)

About the Role

We are seeking a highly motivated Lead or Senior Scientist to join the Tsai Lab at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This role focuses on developing a therapeutic platform for in vivo base editing treatments to address bone marrow failure disorders. The successful candidate will lead efforts to create individualized genome editing therapies, leveraging expertise in genome editing drug development. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to a fast-paced, collaborative environment with significant potential for career growth.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop in vivo base editing drug products to treat patients with bone marrow failure disorders.
• Characterize genotoxicity of candidate drug products using advanced genomic assays (e.g., CHANGE-seq-BE, CHANCE-seq) and variant-aware analysis.
• Optimize potency and specificity of an HSC-targeted lipid nanoparticle gene editing approach.
• Co-lead a multi-disciplinary team to test a streamlined platform for in vivo genome editing medicines.
• Coordinate and accelerate lead-target discovery, genotoxicity characterization, and cargo optimization.
• Conduct non-clinical pharmacology studies of HSC-targeted lipid nanoparticles.
• Assess and manage project technical and drug development risks.
• Analyze experimental outcomes, prepare high-quality summaries, and present updates to the DRIVE and ARPA-H teams.
• Draft manuscripts and figures for publication in high-impact journals.

Qualifications

• PhD in a relevant scientific area (e.g., genomics, molecular and cell biology) is required.
• Expertise in genome editing, genomics, and next-generation sequencing.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and presentation skills.
• Four or more years of hands-on research experience with CRISPR genome editors and NGS library preparation.

Experience Requirements

Lead Scientist:

• 12 years with a Bachelor’s degree
• 10 years with a Master’s degree
• 7 years with a PhD

Senior Scientist:

• 10 years with a Bachelor’s degree
• 8 years with a Master’s degree
• 5 years with a PhD

Pay

Lead Scientist: $125,840.00/yr. - $238,160.00/yr.

Senior Scientist: $104,000/yr. - $186,160.00/yr.

Benefits

St. Jude offers excellent benefits, competitive salary, relocation assistance, and opportunities for professional development, including attendance at national and international meetings such as ASGCT, ASH, Keystone Genome Engineering, CSHL Genome Editing, and FASEB Genome Engineering.

About the Lab

The Tsai Lab is a highly collaborative, creative, and motivated group focused on developing state-of-the-art genomic methods to understand genome editor activities, improve protein engineering for precise editing, and translate research into autologous genome-edited hematopoietic stem cell therapies. Dr. Tsai also co-leads the PARADIGM project, advancing individualized genomic medicines.

Application Process

Please include a cover letter addressed to Dr. Tsai explaining your interest. For questions, email Dr. Tsai directly at shengdar.tsai@stjude.org.