Postdoctoral Scientist - Svendsen Lab - Regenerative Medicine Institute

About the Role

The Svendsen Lab at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Regenerative Medicine Institute, is seeking a Postdoctoral Scientist to join our team. This role focuses on using human stem cell models and cell-based technologies to understand and develop new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Parkinson’s disease (PD). The position emphasizes patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to model young-onset Parkinson’s disease (YOPD) and precision-medicine approaches to investigate disease heterogeneity.

The successful candidate will work with well-characterized patient-derived iPSC lines, differentiate them into midbrain dopaminergic neuronal cultures, and conduct functional, molecular, and biochemical studies. Projects will explore how patient-specific genetic and molecular backgrounds influence neuronal phenotypes, disease vulnerability, and responses to therapeutic interventions. This work is part of collaborative programs integrating iPSC-derived neuronal phenotypes with genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, and clinical data from deeply characterized PD cohorts.

Responsibilities

• Design and perform experiments using human iPSC-derived neuronal models, with a primary focus on midbrain dopaminergic neurons and Parkinson’s disease.
• Maintain, differentiate, and characterize patient-derived iPSC lines and neural cultures.
• Perform quantitative phenotyping of neuronal cultures using biochemical, molecular, imaging, and functional assays.
• Investigate disease-relevant phenotypes, including alterations in α-synuclein biology, lysosomal and autophagic function, mitochondrial function, cellular metabolism, oxidative stress, neuronal activity, and dopamine production and release.
• Evaluate neuronal responses to disease-relevant stressors and candidate therapeutic interventions to identify patient- or pathway-specific differences in vulnerability and rescue.
• Perform or coordinate functional characterization using approaches such as multi-electrode array analysis, neurotransmitter measurements, high-content imaging, and related assays.
• Integrate experimental findings with genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, and clinical datasets generated through collaborative studies.
• Develop, optimize, and validate new experimental techniques and protocols as required by the research program.
• Maintain detailed experimental records and ensure rigorous, reproducible data collection.
• Analyze, interpret, summarize, and present experimental results in collaboration with the Principal Investigator and research team.
• Participate in the preparation of scientific manuscripts, abstracts, presentations, and grant applications.
• Collaborate closely with scientists, clinicians, computational investigators, research associates, technicians, and students across multidisciplinary research programs.
• May assist in the preparation of grant proposals but is not responsible for generating grant funds.
• May participate in publications and presentations as author or co-author.
• Operates and maintains equipment and instruments.

Qualifications

Education: Doctorate (PhD, MD, VMD, DDS, or equivalent) in neuroscience, stem cell biology, molecular or cellular biology, biomedical sciences, bioengineering, or a closely related field.

Experience and Skills:

• Acquires thorough technical and theoretical knowledge of research projects and objectives during a 1-5 year post-doctoral appointment.
• Works independently on research projects designed by a mentor (typically the PI) within area of specialization.
• Demonstrated aptitude to perform experimental protocols and procedures, including detailed data collection, analysis, operation, and maintenance of specialized equipment.
• Scheduling flexibility, including evening, weekend, and holiday rotation commitments, may be necessary. Travel may be required.
• Functions efficiently and cooperatively with a team of faculty, research associates, technicians, and students.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills are essential.
• Knowledge of safety standards and maintenance of specialized equipment.

Desirable Experience and Skills:

• Experience culturing human pluripotent stem cells and/or differentiating iPSCs into neural cell types.
• Experience with human iPSC-derived neurons, particularly midbrain dopaminergic neurons, is strongly preferred.
• Strong background in neuroscience, neurodegeneration, stem cell biology, or Parkinson’s disease research.
• Experience with quantitative cellular and molecular assays relevant to neuronal function or neurodegeneration.
• Experience with one or more of the following approaches is highly desirable:
  • Western blotting, ELISA, immunocytochemistry, and related protein assays.
  • Lysosomal, autophagic, mitochondrial, oxidative stress, or metabolic assays.
  • Multi-electrode array or other electrophysiological analysis.
  • Dopamine or other neurotransmitter quantification, including HPLC-based methods.
  • High-content or quantitative fluorescence imaging.
  • RNA sequencing, single-cell or single-nucleus sequencing, proteomics, metabolomics, or other high-dimensional datasets.
• Experience working with patient-derived cell lines, disease cohorts, or genetically diverse iPSC panels is particularly valuable.
• Familiarity with experimental approaches for investigating genotype-phenotype relationships, disease heterogeneity, or precision medicine is desirable.
• Computational expertise is not required, but the ability to interpret and integrate complex molecular datasets with cellular phenotypes is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to design rigorous experiments, troubleshoot protocols, collect quantitative data, and independently analyze and interpret results.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to experimental reproducibility and documentation.