Research Associate II - Pan Group

Broad Institute
United States, Massachusetts, Cambridge
May 27, 2025
Description & Requirements About the Stanley Center: Reducing the burden of serious mental illness through research, the Stanley Center aims to exploit the most advanced technologies for human genetic analysis in order to understand disease mechanisms for psychiatric disorders, identify potential biomarkers, and ignite needed progress in therapeutics. Our goal is to derive biological insights from disease associated genes, contribute to new understandings of pathogenesis, the identification of biomarkers, and above all, new treatments. Job Description The Stanley Center therapeutics group is seeking a candidate that will support the in vivo characterization of novel therapeutics developed here at the Broad institute to treat the unmet needs of schizophrenia. The position will be imbedded within the Stanley Center therapeutics group that combines genetics, medicinal chemistry, high-throughput technologies with animal model systems. The Broad Institute provides a vibrant research environment with close links to MIT, Harvard, and the Harvard-affiliated hospitals across Boston. The candidate will work with senior researchers to develop, validate, and subsequently perform rodent animal behavioral assays to characterize the effects of novel small molecule compounds targeting schizophrenia risk genes and associated pathways. The candidate will interact intensively with biologists, electrophysiologists, chemists, and computational scientists. The candidate will spearhead the following projects: CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES Stereotaxic surgery for tethered and wireless EEG Optimize and perform in vivo rodent behavioral phenotyping of novel small molecules that target ion channels, GPCRs and other druggable proteins relevant for schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders Attend and present at multidisciplinary team meetings to share results, plan projects and experiments, and ensure that projects support team goals and contribute to scientific publications Rodent tissue harvesting Troubleshoot to resolve problems and participate in new technology evaluation, development, and implementation Routine rodent colony maintenance Document, compile, and analyze experimental data Maintain detailed experimental records, documentation, and written protocols Attend and present at Stanley Center and Broad-wide presentations May perform other duties as assigned QUALIFICATIONS B.S. in biology, neurobiology, animal psychology, molecular/cellular biology or a related field, with at least 2 years related animal behavior experience Must be comfortable handling mice and have prior lab experience in maintaining mouse colonies and performing in vivo rodent behavior necessary Prior experience performing stereotaxic surgery strongly preferred Outstanding personal initiative and communication skills Must be able to work independently and on multidisciplinary project teams Working closely with computational biologists or experience running custom python scripts preferred but not required Exceptional organizational and time management skills, lab notebook practices and attention to detail Curiosity to learn new things and a passion to make a difference in the lives of patients by advancing novel treatments for psychiatric diseases. Must be willing and able to develop and shift plans in service of a rapidly changing environment and troubleshoot to solve problems