Lead Researcher in the Center of Excellence for Data-Driven Discovery

There’s a reason St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is consistently ranked on Glassdoor’s “Best Places to Work” list. Actually, there are more than 5,500 reasons. At our world-class pediatric research hospital, every one of our 5,500 professionals shares our commitment to making a difference in the lives of the children we serve. There’s a unique bond when you are part of a team that will stop at nothing to advance the treatments and cures of pediatric catastrophic diseases. The result is a collaborative, positive environment where all employees, regardless of their role, receive the resources, support, and encouragement to advance and grow their careers.

Overview

As a part of the Center of Excellence for Data-Driven Discovery in the Department of Structural Biology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Babu Group seeks a highly driven, full-time experimental Lead Researcher with a strong background in GPCR pharmacology and signal transduction. The candidate will design and carry out high-throughput assays aimed at understanding mechanisms of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling in human physiology and disease to develop novel therapeutic strategies.

The G Protein Coupled Receptor (GPCR) Collaborative is a recently established national collaborative between six leading GPCR biology and pharmacology experts to reveal the molecular determinants and fidelity of GPCR signaling in health and disease. The goal of the Collaborative is to gain fundamentally new insights into GPCR physiology using state-of-the-art technologies that shift focus from time-averaged, ensemble investigations towards understanding the properties and functions of single molecules and assemblies in space and time. The Collaborative’s Aims will be accomplished by leveraging the complementary expertise of the Collaborative members:

M. Madan Babu, Member, Dept. of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Scott Blanchard, Member, Dept. of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Georgios Skiniotis, Member, Dept. of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Jonathan Javitch, Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Columbia University & NY State Psychiatric Institute

Robert Lefkowitz, Chancellor's Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Duke University

Alice Ting, Professor of Genetics, Biology, and Chemistry, Stanford University

The ideal candidate will be an expert in GPCR pharmacology and will design and use biosensors to perform imaging, high-throughput screening, and functional GPCR assays in mammalian cells.

Preference will be to candidates who have experience in GPCR pharmacology. Experience using optical plate readers, light microscopy, or flow cytometry to study GPCRs and GPCR signaling is highly preferred. Successful candidates will be inquisitive problem-solvers who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative research group with broad expertise.

The ideal candidate will be independently able to propose testable hypotheses based on their understanding of the GPCR literature, and design and carry out experiments to test them.

Please join us if you want to put your expertise in GPCR biology to work building high-throughput assay platforms to discover novel modulators of medically relevant GPCRs.

The Babu Group uses data-driven approaches to understand sequence-function relationships in intrinsically disordered proteins and structure-function relationships in medicinally important structured protein families such as GPCRs and Kinases, respectively. The Lead Researcher will design and carry out experiments aimed at understanding mechanisms of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling in human physiology and disease to develop novel therapeutic strategies.

Work from our group has revealed insights into signaling mechanisms linking the ligand-binding pocket in receptors (Nature 2013) to activation-dependent conformational changes (Nature 2016), the selective binding of G proteins (Nature 2017), and the allosteric activation mechanism of G proteins (Nature 2015). We have demonstrated that GPCR isoforms diversify signaling responses in different human tissues (Nature 2020) and that GPCRs are highly variable in the human population, contributing to variable drug responses and posing an economic burden on healthcare systems (Cell 2018).

Responsibilities and Opportunities for Skill Development

• Development of optical high-throughput assays for functional screens to dissect GPCR signaling.
• Using fluorescence and FRET/BRET-based reporters of GPCR signaling and ligand binding.
• Engineering mammalian cell lines.
• Performing modern cellular and molecular biology workflows.
• Meticulous electronic documentation of experimental observations, procedures, sample organization, and results .
• Collaborating with Structural Biology’s Protein Technology Center (PTC).
• Planning and presenting research with passion and clarity.
• Contribute to the development of a working hypothesis through an in-depth literature review.
• Prepare high-quality manuscripts for publication in high-impact journals.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is consistently named as one of Fortune magazine and Glassdoor.com’s “Best Places to Work,” as well as “Best Workplace for Women” and “Best Workplace for Diversity.” We are in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee, a vibrant and friendly city at the historic American crossroads of music, trade, food, and culture. Mild winters and beautiful green outdoor spaces are part of the reasons why Forbes recently named Memphis the 4th happiest city in which to work. Low cost of living and high quality of life are other attractions; Money magazine listed Memphis as one of the least expensive cities in which to raise a child. St. Jude salaries are highly competitive.

Compensation

In recognition of certain U.S. state and municipal pay transparency laws, St. Jude is including a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This is an estimate offered in good faith and a specific salary offer takes into account factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the salary range and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current salary range is $60,320 - $105,040 per year for the role of Lead Researcher in the Center of Excellence for Data-Driven Discovery.

Explore our exceptional benefits!

No Search Firms

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. Please do not call or email. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee or other representative at St. Jude via email, the internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written search agreement in place and approved by HR will result in no fee being paid in the event the candidate is hired by St. Jude.