The research technician will work in Dr. Stephanie Wankowicz’s lab (wankowiczlab.com) within the Molecular Physiology and Biophysics department, Center for AI for Protein Dynamics, and Center for Structural Biology at Vanderbilt University. This position requires knowledge of basic laboratory procedures and experience in cloning, protein expression, and protein purification. The research technician will support ongoing research into protein structure, dynamics, and function. Additional responsibilities include laboratory maintenance.

The Wankowicz lab (wankowiczlab.com) aims to elucidate the role of entropy in substrate specificity and catalysis, striving to provide a comprehensive thermodynamic understanding of enzyme function. The lab develops innovative computational structural modeling methods combined with biophysical measurements and machine learning to explore how proteins utilize entropy for binding. This position focuses on the wet lab aspects, employing X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM alongside biophysical techniques like surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) to study how different genetic variants or ligands impact protein dynamics and binding thermodynamics.

  Duties and Responsibilities Manage, order, and maintain key lab reagents and equipment Perform cloning and assembly of recombinant proteins Execute expression and purification of recombinant proteins Opportunity to learn structural biology or biophysical techniques Opportunity to conduct independent research projects

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in a related field (biology, chemistry, physics, or related field) is necessary. 

Experience and Skills:

Experience in molecular biology and protein expression is strongly preferred Experience in structural biology is preferred