Structural Genomics Consortium - University of Toronto

Employment Opportunities at SGC in Toronto

New! Senior Research Associate and Project Manager

Chemical Probes for Epigenetics Targets The Toronto site of the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) is looking for candidates with a Ph.D. degree with 10 or more years of experience in pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in early stage drug discovery, and a proven track record in leading projects and/or interdisciplinary teams. The successful candidate will coordinate collaborations within the SGC and with 3 or more chemistry and HTS screening groups to analyze and progress and develop highly potent and selective compounds for multiple members of 3 protein families involved in epigenetic chromatin biology. Experience with structure based drug design, library design, and lead optimization would be an asset. Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills are essential.

As part of newly launched “precompetitive” public-private partnership the SGC aims to develop and make publically available chemical probes to in order to facilitate discovery of novel human therapeutic targets.

New! Senior Research Associate: X-ray Crystallography

The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) seeks an enthusiastic PhD scientist with extensive knowledge and experience in solving the structures of eukaryotic proteins by x-ray crystallography. The successful candidate will lead approximately 25 crystallographic projects per year by working with a team of SGC scientists to express and purify recombinant proteins, conduct crystallization trials, collect x-ray diffraction data using both home and synchrotron x-ray sources, determine protein structures and deposit structures in public and SGC databases. Further responsibilities include contributing to publications in high quality peer reviewed journals, including being primary author on a subset of the manuscripts, and contribute to the advancement of structural biology knowledge and methodologies.

Qualifications: The candidate requires a PhD in protein chemistry, biochemistry, or structural biology along with at least 3 years of experience as a crystallographer. Thorough knowledge of x-ray diffraction and synchrotron radiation will be a key to success in this position. Preferably postdoctoral experience with excellent publication record would be desired.

The Toronto site of the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC): The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) is a charitable enterprise, with a mandate to produce medically relevant human and human parasite proteins, determine the three-dimensional protein structures and map the interactions of proteins with natural and synthetic binding partners and place the associated information in the public domain without restriction. The SGC develops and implements rapid, parallel methodologies for protein production, structural biology, and chemical biology. We have purified thousands of human proteins implicated in cancer, cellular signaling, epigenetic signaling, ubiquitin signaling, diabetes and metabolic disease, osteoporosis, and drug metabolism, as well as proteins from malaria parasites. We have determined hundreds of protein structures including protein-protein, protein-peptide and protein small molecule complexes providing insight into the mechanism of interaction, catatlysis, signaling and inhibition. For more details see www.TheSGC.com.

Interested candidates are encouraged to submit their CVs and a brief statement of research interests to HR.sgc@utoronto.ca.

New! Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Associate Positions in Chromatin Biology [download pdf]

The SGC has recently launched a public-private partnership to generate small molecule "chemical probes" for use in research on epigenetic signalling. Using the SGC's strength in making active recombinant human proteins, we will develop inhibitors of three important protein families involved in epigenetic signalling: the Histone Methyltransferases, Histone Acetyltransferases and members of the "Royal Family" of chromatin-interacting domains. We aim to develop 15 chemical probes with pre-defined potencies, selectivities and cellular activities for use in biological research. The chemical probes will be made available without restrictions on use and the associated data will be placed into the public domain via publications and deposition into public databases. We are actively working industrial and academic medicinal chemists and with local and international investigators who will use our probes to accelerate research on the role of epigenetic signalling in human biology and diseases, such as cancer, inflammation, mental illness and stem cell biology.

The Toronto site of the SGC seeks adventurous, motivated molecular and cell biologists to work in collaboration with protein biochemists, structural biologists, and medicinal chemists to develop cellular assays to help develop and characterize chemical probes.

Postdoctoral Fellow: 0-2 years post-PhD, with experience in chromatin molecular and cell biology.

Sr. Research Associate and Team Leader: PhD required with 3-5 years additional experience in cell & chromatin biology. Candidate will lead a small team to develop cell based assays to confirm and optimize chemical probes. He/she will coordinate collaborations with the community to link inhibition of individual protein targets with human biology and physiology. Experience in stem cell biology and/or cancer research is also a plus.

Interested Candidates please send CV and statement of interest to Cheryl Arrowsmith carrow@uhnres.utoronto.ca with the term "EpiG probes" in the subject line.

Recent! Research Associate

The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) is a milestone-driven research enterprise that operates out of Universities of Toronto and Oxford and Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. SGC develops and employs both novel and established High Throughput (HTP) methodologies to meet aggressive high resolution protein structure determination goals. As part of an epigenetic program, SGC also targets the activity of different protein families involved in epigenetic signalling including the Histone Acetyltransferases, Histone Methyltransferases, and other methyl lysine binding modules and aims to develop chemical probes through high throughput screening platforms and place the information in public domain.

SGC Toronto is looking for candidates with a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry or related majors with extensive experience in developing and optimizing enzymatic assays and performing enzyme kinetic studies. Experience in cell based assay and working with epigenetic proteins would be an asset.

Experience: A minimum of 5 years of experience in developing and optimizing enzyme assays and enzyme kinetic studies is required. Extensive experience in protein expression, purification and characterization is essential. Experience with high throughput biotechnology platforms and protein characterization methods are required. Excellent publication record is crucial.

Skills: Ability to work independently and within a team to deliver according to deadlines and milestones, excellent communication and organization skills,

Responsibilities: In a team work environment, the qualified candidate will be involved in developing and optimizing variety of enzyme assays and will perform complete kinetic studies on SGC target proteins. He or She will be involved in screening for ligands for variety of protein targets to find potent inhibitors or ligands that could be used as molecular probes for further structure function relationship studies by SGC and the scientific community. The individual in this position may also be involved in many other tasks and projects as needed.

Please send your resume to Dr. Masoud Vedadi (mvedadi@uhnres.utoronto.ca).

Recent! Production Bacterial Culture Technician

We are seeking a Laboratory Technician with a unique blend of knowledge in biochemistry, heterologous protein expression systems and high throughput biotechnology platforms. In this position, the technician will be responsible for the generation and maintenance of bacterial cell lines transformed with recombinant protein expression vectors and use of these cell lines in scale-up protein production.

Working under the supervision of a Biology Group Principal Investigator, the laboratory technician is responsible for following standard operating procedures (SOPs) to produce large quantities of recombinant proteins for crystallography trials. Responsibilities include, both following and documenting protein purification protocols, maintaining a clean and safe work environment, and other support activities as they arise (i.e. preparing stock laboratory reagents).

The candidate requires a University degree or acceptable equivalent combination of education and work experience in molecular biology, microbiology or biochemistry with a minimum of one (1) year relevant experience. The position requires experience in preparing and maintaining glycerol stocks of transformed bacterial cell lines, and troubleshooting protein expression protocols. Experience with high throughput methodologies and robotic liquid handling systems would be considered an asset. In addition, the ideal candidate will have very strong verbal skills (oral and written English), proven ability to work within a team environment, handle multiple tasks and deliver results within an aggressive timeline.

Recent! Structural Biologist/Biochemist

The SGC seeks an experienced Research Associate with knowledge and experience in the expression and purification of recombinant proteins from heterologous expression systems for the purpose of solving high resolution protein structures. Using SGC-developed protein expression platforms, the candidate will work within the Cell Signaling and Metabolism Group to solve the structure of proteins involved in ATP or GTP hydrolysis.

Primary Responsibilities will include:

initiating experiments and planning strategies related to experiments on protein expression and purification of Cell Signaling and Metabolism target proteins
designing and performing experiments aimed to purify and crystallize proteins in a highly parallel fashion
Conducting collaborative research and development, introducing innovative methods
Interacting closely with the X-ray crystallography and biophysical characterization groups to optimize crystallization of proteins
Enhancing the scientific reputation of the Facility by contributing to publications in high quality peer reviewed journals.

Qualifications:
The candidate requires a PhD in protein chemistry, biochemistry or structural biology along with at least 3 years of experience in cloning, mutagenesis, high throughput protein purification and crystallography. Thorough knowledge of x-ray diffraction and synchrotron radiation will be a key to success in this position. Preferably postdoctoral experience with excellent publication record would be desired.

Ongoing! Post-doctoral Scientist, Crystallography - The SGC seeks enthusiastic PhD scientists with experience in protein biochemistry, x-ray crystallography and/or structural biology. The SGC offer fellows the opportunity to learn state of the art methods in eukaryote protein expression, htp crystallization and structure determination. The major duties for successful candidates will include one or more of the following; protein expression & purification, crystallization, data collection (home and synchrotron), structure determination, and structure deposition to the PDB.

Research Technicians: For specific job openings please visit the University of Toronto Human Resources website and send your application to the Human Resources department.
The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from viisible minority group members, women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, members of sexual minority groups, and other who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Interested candidates are encouraged to submit their CVs and a brief statement of research interests to HR.sgc@utoronto.ca. In the subject header, clearly indicate the position you are applying for.