Postdoctoral Fellow- linking genes to B cell phenotypes with CRISPR screens

We are seeking an enthusiastic and motivated postdoc with strong immunology background to join our interdisciplinary team on an exiciting project that will use cutting-edge techniques to study how genes associated with immune diseases modulate immune cell functions. Specifically, we aim to focus on B cell biology and using pooled CRISPR screens assess the effects of gene perturbations on disease relevant phenotypes. The strongest hits from the screens will be followed up using high throughput image-based cellular assays coupled with single-cell transcriptional readouts. This position will be based at Wellcome Sanger Institute under the leadership of Dr. Gosia Trynka, and in close collaboration with Dr. Blagoje Soskic at Human Technopole. Additionally, you will be interacting with the broader project team that includes Dr. Omer Bayraktar, Dr. Andrew Bassett and Dr. Panos Zalmas and Dr. Carla Jones at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and multiple industry partners. This project forms part of the Open Targets (https://www.opentargets.org/ ) collaboration between academic and industrial partners to identify new drug targets for the treatment of immune diseases.

We are seeking expertise in cellular immunology, and strong experience in cell culture and manipulation of B cells. You will work together with a research assistant based at the Open Targets Validation Lab at Sanger and an image analyst. Collectively, the team will build CRISPR libraries to knock out disease-relevant genes in B cells, and then assess the effects of gene perturbations on cellular phenotypes through cellular assays (e.g. based on FACS or high content imaging) and transcriptional profiling. You will have the opportunity to leverage well-established differentiation protocols and phenotyping assays, but also to develop new methods for unbiased screening and more detailed follow-up studies. Our aim is to link genes important for immune diseases to B cell functions, to reveal the underlying molecular mechanisms and define new routes for therapeutic intervention.

This project provides an opportunity to leverage the exciting recent advances in CRISPR screens, cell imaging and single-cell sequencing technologies to drive innovation in disease-relevant cell models, develop assays to measure immune cell phenotypes, and apply them at scale. It is an opportunity to advance immune disease research using the state-of-the-art facilities at the Sanger Institute in collaboration with Human Technopole and to be a part of our interdisciplinary Open Targets community. It offers an outstanding career development opportunity for you in a very supportive environment.

As a PDF with us, you will receive support for your professional and personal development, including various training opportunities, chances to network, and we have a PDF committee in place to ensure our PDFs are supported in their posts.

About Us:

Our lab is studying how genetic variation affects immune cell function using gene editing, single-cell sequencing and computational analyses. We work together as a diverse and multidisciplinary team of experimental and data scientists to generate and analyse biological datasets to address the fundamental biological question of how genetic variation contributes to immune diseases such as IBD and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), ultimately aiming to identify novel therapeutic hypotheses for unmet need.

For informal enquiries, please contact Gosia Trynka

Essential Skills
Technical skill set:

PhD in cell biology, immunology or immunogenomics
Experience with B cell isolation, manipulation, activation and culture
Experience performing flow cytometry
Broad technical and scientific understanding of immunology, genetics and genomics
An ideal candidate will have experience with microscopy, but it is not essential
Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment and to work independently.
Ability to communicate ideas and results effectively to diverse audience
Have the highest ethical standards and respect diversity and cultural differences in the institute

Behavioural Skill set:

Excellent communication skills to allow efficient interactions with collaborators
Team player with the ability to work with others in a collegiate and collaborative environment
Ability to effectively prioritise, multi-task and work without supervision.
Demonstrates inclusivity and respect for all
Other information

Application Process:

Please apply with your CV and a Cover letter addressing how you meet the criteria set out above and in the job description.

About Open Targets
Open Targets is a pioneering public-private partnership between European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the Wellcome Sanger Institute (Sanger), Sanofi, Pfizer and Bristol Meyers Squibb (BMS), located at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Hinxton, near Cambridge, UK.

Open Targets brings together expertise from five complementary institutions to generate evidence on the biological validity of therapeutic targets and provide an initial assessment of the likely effectiveness of pharmacological intervention on these targets, using genome-scale experiments and analysis. Open Targets aims to provide an R&D framework that applies to all aspects of human disease to improve the success rate of discovering new medicines and share data openly in the interest of accelerating drug discovery.