University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Senior Research Investigator (Department of Neuroscience)

Job Profile Title

Research Investigator, Senior

Job Description Summary

The Senior Research Investigator (SRI) will act in a leadership role, overseeing and designing advanced experiments. He/She/They will assist the Principal Investigator and play a leading role in developing a research program that uses rhesus macaques as a model for understanding the biology of social behavior in humans, the impact of sociality on resiliency, and biological changes across the lifespan.
The SRI will play a crucial role in all aspects of research products including development, implementation, and data analysis. In the development stage, the SRI will assess proposed projects by conducting feasibility studies to provide valuable input regarding viability, efficiency, timeline, and study design. In the implementation stage, he/she will supervise and perform the projects. This includes overseeing workflow and productivity of personnel and providing training to them on specific methods as necessary. Finally, the SRI will be responsible for data analysis, preparation of manuscripts, liaising with external partners, and presenting research findings through various forums. The SRI must demonstrate the ability to analyze and present data in professional "publication ready" format and to be able to independently prepare manuscripts and grant writings for submission.

Job Description

In close collaboration with senior leadership comprising the Cayo Biobank Research Unit (CBRU), the SRI will lead and coordinate research teams that span a range of disciplines, including morphology, demography, genomics, immunology, and behavior (to name a few). A near term priority of the CBRU is to shed light on the key factors that pattern heterogeneity in aging, health, and disease.

The successful applicant will have extensive experience in the fields of population genomics, primate behavior, and neuroscience. To this end, we seek a candidate who will lead the molecular and computational components of the project, while also managing biobanking activities and contributing to the development of a systems biology database under the auspices of the CBRU.

The SRI will lead the analysis and interpretation of genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic data from rhesus macaques brain tissues as well as blood, peripheral tissues, and microbiome samples. Currently funded aspects of the project include generating single-cell transcriptomic and epigenomic atlases of the rhesus macaque brain, and the candidate will be required to contribute to single-cell data generation and analysis.

The SRI will:

• Design and implement tissue collection protocols and molecular experiments under the supervision of Dr. Platt.
• Coordinate the data generation and analysis of genomic, transcriptomic, epigenomic, and metabolomic data, at both the single-cell level and from bulk tissue samples.
• Establish robust and standardized pipelines for the above steps, including efficient and well-organized workflows for scaling up the project to ~1,000 samples per year.
• Perform studies, analyze data (including existing data from the lab), and communicate results.
• Lead projects that aim at developing new and innovative interventions for fostering social connection and resilience.
• Importantly, the selected applicant will manage teams of undergraduate/graduate students, post-doctoral trainees, and research assistants during annual animal trapping and tissue collection activities in Puerto Rico.

Position is contingent on continued funding.

Qualifications

Highly advanced professional discipline. Ph.D., or equivalent doctoral degree and 5-7 years of postdoctoral experience is required. We are seeking someone with a Ph.D. in primate biology, genomics, computational biology, or a related field, and who has strong molecular wet lab and computational skills. Experience with genomics and next-generation sequencing data generation and analysis are essential.

SRI should also have high-level skills in R, Unix, Python, and AWS. Strong organizational skills are a must, as this project comprises a large biobank of tissue samples previously collected from a research colony of rhesus macaques. The successful candidate will work to optimize sampling protocols for future tissue collection activities while managing thousands of biosamples in the current collection at the University of Pennsylvania. He/she/they should have experience coordinating large scale studies, coordinating activities using teleconferencing applications, as well as experience with overseeing animal care protocol development and approval.

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

Perelman School of Medicine

Pay Range

$36,368.00 - $105,000.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, as well as internal and market factors and grade profile. 

Affirmative Action Statement 
Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.

Special Requirements 
Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits

• Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

• Tuition: Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.

• Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

• Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.

• Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.

• Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.

• Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.

• University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.

• Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.

• Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.

• Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.

• Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

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To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay