Working at MIT offers opportunities, an environment, a culture – and benefits – that just aren’t found together anywhere else. If you’re curious, motivated, want to be part of a unique community, and help shape the future – then take a look at this opportunity.

TECHNICAL ASSOCIATE I, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES)-Shalek Lab, to join a lab which specializes in leveraging novel single-cell genomic approaches to understand the behaviors of complex biological systems. Will focus on human cancers, both liquid (e.g., leukemias and lymphomas) and solid (e.g., pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma) tumors. Research questions center on the ecosystem of various tumors and how their malignant transcriptional phenotypes relate to the local microenvironment. The core technique that will be learned and applied is Seq-Well, an in-house and customizable platform for single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) and library generation from thousands of cells. Will independently perform single-nucleus sequencing on banked tissue; receive and process samples through the biological assays, perform quality control assays, and prepare samples for sequencing; handle RNA-seq library preparation, next generation sequencing (NGS), and data analysis in R; record, summarize, and document findings; maintain a detailed and thorough lab notebook; interpret, contextualize, and present findings; and perform other duties as requested. May perform other RNA-seq biological assays with Seq-Well and SmartSeq 2 as examples. 

The position offers an opportunity to gain fundamental skills in an interdisciplinary and technologically driven environment with interactions across MIT, the Broad Institute, and the Ragon Institute. 

Job Requirements

REQUIRED: bachelor’s degree in a field related to biology, immunology, chemistry, and/or genomics; two years’ wet lab bench experience; desire to understand tumor biology and therapy resistance through a single-cell lens; excellent communication, organizational, and critical-thinking skills; ability to work independently and as a team member; attention to detail; self-direction/motivation; and a desire to learn. PREFERRED:  knowledge of R and/or other programming languages and coursework experience related to cancer. Job #19158