Staff Research Associate, Cellular & Molecular Med - 141393

UCSD Health Sciences is a $1 billion dollar plus organization encompassing 17 academic departments (15 clinical, 2 basic sciences), 2 preacademic/hospital departments, 2 professional schools (School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences), 2 hospitals, and various other programs and units all dedicated towards fulfilling the Health Sciences missions. The UCSD Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (CMM) is one of two basic science units in the School of Medicine where world-class researchers study fundamental cellular processes and pathways using a variety of techniques from classical genetics and fluorescence microscopy to high throughput genomics, systems biology, and crystallography. Our 37 faculty and over 200 postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, and research staff work on the cutting edge of biology, cutting across fields from basic biochemistry and genetics to genomics, systems biology and stem cell biology. The faculty also play a major role in medical and graduate student training, providing educational and programmatic offerings that span several disciplines and provide diversity to meet the interests of a broad spectrum of students and scholars. The diverse mix of ages, backgrounds, and talents creates a robust work environment with challenging career opportunities and a commitment to continued growth potential. We constantly seek to recruit highly motivated, technologically advanced, and deeply interested individuals who are ready to become a part of our dynamic research and educational environment.

The Institute for Network Medicine [www.inetmed.ucsd.edu] is striving towards a goal of understanding the fundamental principles that allow eukaryotic cells to do their business, i.e., iteratively sense, decide, act, and learn/adapt. We hypothesize that they do so through an ad hoc molecular interaction network whose architectural principles and computational rules are like those used in the layered communication systems in the engineering world. These rules enable noise reduction, error minimization, shielding and encapsulation of breakdowns, control of delays and state explosion, etc. Success in decoding these fundamental rules should not only enable us to complete and 'clean up' the existing incomplete and messy biological networks, but also use these networks for simulating and predicting cell behavior. This will usher a new era in network-based diagnostic tools and network-resetting therapeutics for major diseases. On the flip side, knowing how a cell autonomously carries out its business will provide insights into designing new kinds of self-organizing networks (SON) and provide a novel paradigm (beyond artificial neural networks) for developing Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Under general supervision of the Principal Investigator and Scientific Director, the Staff Research Associate III (SRA III) serves as the primary technical workflow coordinator for advanced mass spectrometry (LC/MS)-based analytical workflows within the Agilent Center of Excellence (CoE) in Cellular Intelligence at the University of California San Diego.

The position combines journey-level knowledge and skill in two ordinarily distinct scientific disciplines - analytical mass spectrometry chemistry and instrumentation systems - and requires the incumbent to independently execute complex analytical workflows and contribute original technical advances that support multidisciplinary biomedical research programs.

The incumbent provides specialized technical support in analytical chemistry and metabolomics, interfacing LC/MS technologies with collaborative projects in cell biology, organoid platforms, systems biology, and multi-omics approaches. Rather than conducting independent biological research in these areas, the incumbent focuses strictly on the analytical chemistry pipeline - from sample preparation and method development through data acquisition, quality control, statistical analysis, and formatting of complex datasets for collaborative teams.

In parallel, the incumbent supports the daily technical operations for the Agilent Center of Excellence, coordinating daily laboratory workflows across multiple advanced instrumentation platforms, including instrument maintenance schedules, user technical orientations, workflow standardization, calendar scheduling, safety compliance, and vendor technical relations. This role requires substantial independent technical judgment, specialized expertise, and the ability to coordinate scientific and operational workflows across multiple laboratories, investigators, and institutional partners.

The incumbent also promotes adoption of advanced analytical platforms across the research community, provides technical orientation to trainees and facility users, coordinates educational programs and outreach activities, and helps advance the strategic technical mission of the Agilent Center of Excellence. Performs other duties as assigned.

• Theoretical knowledge of analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Biomedical Engineering, or related discipline as typically attained with an advanced degree, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Extensive hands-on expertise in LC/MS instrumentation and analytical method development, including experimental workflow design, optimization, and troubleshooting; complex biological sample preparation; instrument maintenance; and quantitative data analysis.

• Proven ability to independently carry out new experimental procedures with accuracy and efficiency.

• Proven experience interpreting and analyzing complex data and making determinations related to research aims.

• Proven ability to properly use and maintain laboratory equipment.

• Demonstrated ability to follow established Safety and Biohazardous Material Guidelines.

• Demonstrated knowledge in the operation of a personal computer, including MS Word, Excel, and Prism.

• Proven experience contributing to manuscript preparation. Experience with scientific data analysis software and preparation of publication-quality figures.

• Demonstrated ability to maintain effective working relationships and excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including tact, maturity, professionalism, and flexibility, to interact and collaborate with faculty, staff, students, and appropriate campus department personnel; proven ability to work independently and/or collaboratively within a team.

• Demonstrated ability to manage a complex work schedule. Proven ability to prioritize workload and to shift efforts to meet changing and demanding project and research timelines. Proven ability to take initiative and handle responsibility and demonstrated effective time management skills..

• Experience with metabolomics, lipidomics, proteomics, or systems biology applications.

• Must be willing to work with biohazardous materials, volatile chemicals.
• Must be willing to work with supernatants, animal and human serum, tissues, body fluids, and lysates of cultured cells.
• Occasional evenings and weekends may be required.
• Job offer is contingent on clear Background Check.