Laboratory Technician: Epigenetics, Cell therapy, Cancer (m/f/d)

We are recruiting a research technician who wants to contribute to cutting-edge biomedical research in a highly ambitious, collaborative, and international environment. Our lab is based at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, on the campus of one of the world’s largest hospitals.

At CeMM, we take career development of our staff seriously. For example, we will train the successful candidate in state-of-the-art technologies that are in high demand in academia, industry, and the medical sector. We encourage contribution to and co-authorship of scientific publications. Importantly, genomic medicine is a hot topic in Austria and internationally, creating a highly promising area for a career in biomedical research and applications

Relevant qualifications

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree (or equivalent) with strong wet-lab experience and keen interest in working as a research technician
• High accuracy, reliability, precision under time pressure, and organizational skills
• Prior experience working with molecular biology techniques including cell culture and DNA/RNA assays
• Friendly, collaborative mindset and ability to work well in an international environment
• Written and oral communication skills in English (German language skills are not required)
• Proactive mindset, getting-things-done attitude, and motivation to work hard and do well in a fast-moving area of biomedicine
• We are open to applicants who want to gain practical experience prior to a PhD (former technicians have moved on to PhDs at top places including IRB Barcelona, DKFZ Heidelberg, CRUK Manchester) but we require a 3-years’ time commitment to make it productive

Typical tasks

• High-throughput profiling of patient samples, including next generation sequencing, single-cell technologies, and CRISPR screens
• Cell culture and cell-based assays including the cultivation of patient-derived organoids, immune cells, and CAR T cell therapies
• Optimization and testing of new assays and protocols, for example for cancer epigenetics, tumor immunology, and stem cell biology
• Contribution to lab management, training of new lab members, and scientific publications

The Bock Lab (http://epigenomics.cemm.oeaw.ac.at/; https://twitter.com/BockLab)

We seek to advance biomedicine with technology-driven research, combining functional genomics, bioinformatics, and machine learning with a focus on understanding epigenetic cell states and contributing to cancer and immunity. We are internationally well-connected and strongly committed to the career development of all group members. PhD students and postdocs in our research group have won prestigious fellowships and prizes; three out of three PhD students and five out of six postdocs who graduated from our group have already obtained principal investigator positions and started their own research groups at universities / research institutes in Austria and abroad. Main areas of research include:

• Computational biology. Bioinformatic methods are essential for data-driven biomedical research. We develop algorithms and software for large-scale data analysis, and we pursue clinical collaborations to establish medical impact.
• Single-cell genomics. Many diseases involve deregulated epigenetic cell states. As members of the Human Cell Atlas, we use single-cell sequencing and organoids to dissect the gene-regulatory foundations of cancer and immunity.
• High-throughput biotechnology. Groundbreaking discoveries are often driven by technology. We develop and apply new technologies in areas such as single-cell sequencing, CRISPR screens, epigenome editing, and synthetic biology.
• Machine learning. Huge datasets pose new analytical challenges. As members of the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems, we develop methods for interpretable deep learning and artificial intelligence in biology.
• Immune cell engineering. CAR T cells have shown dramatic efficacy for blood cancers and may spearhead a broader shift toward personalized, cell-based therapies. We use high-throughput technology to design synthetic immune cells.

The Principal Investigator 

Christoph Bock is a Principal Investigator at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Professor of [Bio]Medical Informatics at the Medical University of Vienna. He is also the scientific coordinator of the Biomedical Sequencing Facility at CeMM and co-founder of a Vienna-based start-up company (Myllia Biotechnology). He has received major research awards, including an ERC Starting Grant (2016-2021), an ERC Consolidator Grant (2021-2026), the Otto Hahn Medal of the Max Planck Society (2009), the Overton Prize of the International Society for Computational Biology (2017), and the Erwin Schrödinger Prize of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (2022).(https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9qSsTcIAAAAJ)

About the Institute

CeMM is an international research institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and a founding member of EU-LIFE. The mission of CeMM, the Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is to achieve maximum scientific innovation in molecular medicine to improve healthcare. At CeMM, an international and creative team of scientists and medical doctors pursues free-minded basic life science research in a large and vibrant hospital environment of outstanding medical tradition and practice. At CeMM, an international and creative team of scientists and medical doctors pursues free-minded basic life science research in a large and vibrant hospital environment of outstanding medical tradition and practice. CeMM’s research is based on post-genomic technologies and focuses on societally important diseases, such as immune disorders and infections, cancer, aging and metabolic disorders. CeMM operates in a unique mode of super-cooperation, connecting biology with medicine, experiments with computation, discovery with translation, and science with society and the arts. CeMM discovers and develops technologies to explore human biology with the purpose of defeating disease at its roots. Because Science is our Medicine! CeMM trains a modern blend of biomedical scientists and is located at the campus of the General Hospital and the Medical University of Vienna. CeMM is a proud recipient of the HR Excellence in Research Award (HRS4R). This award indicates that CeMM takes care of the well-being of its employees, that the recruitment process is open, fair, and transparent, and that CeMM offers professional appraisals and career development procedures.   More than 150 people from 49 nationalities are working at CeMM. The institute promotes equal opportunity and harbours a mix of different talents, backgrounds, competences, and interests. www.cemm.at

We offer

• Work within an experienced, interdisciplinary, and international team at one of Austria’s leading research institutes
• Ample opportunities to contribute and gain experience in a key area of biomedical research and precision medicine
• An inspiring workplace with an international setting, strong team spirit, and an excellent work climate
• A wide range of social, cultural, and sports activities organized by the institute
• Excellent employee benefits including full insurance coverage (health, accident, retirement), health care services, subsidized cafeteria
• Monthly gross salary of from EUR 2.850,00 to EUR 3.500,00 paid out 14 times yearly (following the recommendations of FWF). 
• Support for relocating to Vienna is provided (relocation reimbursement, visa support, etc.) 

Please apply online (https://cemm.onlyfy.jobs/job/4x95fzkh) with cover letter, CV , and contact details of 2 referees. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Additional information

City Vienna

Position type Full-time employee

Start of work 01.07.2024