Junior Specialist – Aghi Lab Full-time

Junior Specialist – Aghi Lab

Neurological Surgery / SCHOOL OF MEDICINE / UC San Francisco

Application Window

Open date: January 6, 2026

Most recent review date: Wednesday, Apr 15, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Applications received after this date will be reviewed by the search committee if the position has not yet been filled.

Final date: Tuesday, Jul 6, 2027 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position Description

Junior Specialist – Aghi Lab

The Aghi Lab is seeking Junior Specialists who will participate in basic science research to study mechanisms by which brain tumors interact with their microenvironment to promote growth, invasion, and therapeutic resistance. Drug(s) to disrupt these processes will be evaluated in collaboration with industry partners in cell culture and in mouse models. Job duties will include culturing tumor cells; extraction of RNA and DNA form brain tumor tissue; cloning retroviral constructs and isolating and purifying retroviruses from infected cells; immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence of tumor tissue and cultured primary tumor cells; isolation of cells from brain tumors and flow cytometry of the cells to count numbers of various cell types; isolation of stem cells from brain tumors; CRISPR techniques; and intracranial and subcutaneous implantation of tumor cells into mice, followed by treatment and monitoring of these animals and euthanasia when appropriate. The candidates will also handle lab administration – order entry, making sure protocols are in compliance, and orienting new lab members. Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• Specialists appointed at the junior rank must possess (or in process of obtaining) a baccalaureate degree (or equivalent degree) or must have at least four years of research experience.
• Applicants must have obtained the degree requirement for the Specialist rank by the time of hire.
• Experience with basic wet lab research (cell culture, pipetting, sectioning tissue, immunostaining, qPCR, mouse tumor implantation, western blotting).
• Ability to learn more advanced wet lab techniques (CRISPR, immunoprecipitation, purification of histidine-tagged proteins).
• Ability to independently plan experiments from start to finish to address a specific topic, ultimately leading the person filling this position to write portions of manuscripts.
• Ability to handle lab administration, including order entry, making sure protocols are in compliance, and orienting new lab members.
• Applicant's materials must list qualifications upon submission.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Independent specialized research.

See Table 24B for the salary range for this position. A reasonable estimate for this position is $55,000 – $58,600.