A Research Assistant position in Human Stem Cell-based Neural Models is available at the Language & Genetics Department of the Max Planck Institute, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The position is in the research group of Simon Fisher, co-discoverer of FOXP2, the first gene to be implicated in a speech and language disorder.

MORE INFORMATION AND APPLICATION:

https://www.mpi.nl/career-education/vacancies/vacancy/research-assistant-human-stem-cell-based-neural-models

Some information can be found here, but in case of any discrepancies, the website of MPI is leading.

MPI is seeking a research assistant to support various projects investigating neurobiological consequences of rare gene disruptions associated with neurodevelopmental speech disorders, using human cell-based model systems. You will carry out your work in our custom-built molecular biology laboratories at the Max Planck Institute, which are equipped with dedicated cell-culture facilities, histology and RNA labs, single-cell and spatial analyses equipment, and advanced microscopy suites, including a confocal microscope, as well as a slide scanner for high-throughput imaging.

As a research assistant, you will primarily support the generation, maintenance, and functional characterisation of human stem cell-derived models that involve long-term, large-scale experiments. You will be supervised by and work with postdoctoral researcher(s) day-to-day and carry out experimental procedures in the laboratory. In addition to your laboratory experiments, you will perform important administrative and organizational tasks that are essential for maintaining and running the laboratory.

Your tasks will be diverse, and are expected to include, but are not limited to:

• Culture of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and iPSC-derived neuronal models, including 2D neurons and 3D brain organoids
• Functional and molecular characterization of the iPSCs and neuronal models via:
  o Immunostaining, cryosectioning, and microscopy
  o DNA/RNA extraction
  o (q)RT-PCR
  o Western blotting
• Generation of cell lines using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing methods
• Molecular cloning