Scientist, Nucleic Acid Biochemistry, Hsu & Konermann Labs

<p><strong>About Arc Institute</strong></p> <p>Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization at the interface of artificial intelligence and biology, working to accelerate scientific progress and understand the root causes of complex diseases. Founded in 2021 and based in Palo Alto, Arc partners with Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco.</p> <p>Unlike academia, our scientists have long-term funding and industry-like resources. Unlike industry, they're free to pursue high-risk, long-term research without commercial pressures. Arc's Technology Centers and Core Investigator labs work side by side, integrating experimental and computational biology under one roof to tackle problems neither could solve alone.</p> <p>Our two Institute Initiatives reflect this model in action:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://arcinstitute.org/virtual-cell-initiative"><strong>Virtual Cell Initiative</strong></a><strong>:</strong> Building a full-stack virtual cell model to identify disease mechanisms and nominate drug targets,&nbsp; accelerating the path from biological insight to clinical trials.</li> <li><a href="https://arcinstitute.org/alzheimers-disease-initiative"><strong>Alzheimer's Disease Initiative</strong></a><strong>:</strong> Mapping the genes, pathways, and environmental factors behind Alzheimer's disease to develop drug candidates that address root causes.</li> </ul> <p>More than 300 Arconauts work together at our Palo Alto headquarters, backed by substantial long-term philanthropic funding.</p> <p><strong>About the position</strong></p> <p>The<a href="https://arcinstitute.org/labs/hsulab"> Hsu Lab</a> and <a href="https://arcinstitute.org/labs/konermannlab">Konermann Lab</a> are seeking applications for a Scientist in Nucleic Acid Biochemistry at the Arc Institute in Palo Alto, CA, focusing on mechanistic dissection and engineering of Bridge Recombinases—naturally occurring RNA-guided DNA recombinases that we recently discovered and showed can programmably insert, excise, and invert DNA (<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07552-4">Nature, 2024</a>; <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adz0276">Science, 2025</a>). The candidate will drive the next phase of Bridge Recombinase evolution. Building on our work establishing IS110 and ISCro4 as programmable tools, you will be part of an interdisciplinary team with the goal to engineer bridge RNAs and recombinases for megabase-scale genome modifications, therapeutic gene circuit integration, and scarless disease correction.&nbsp;</p> <p>In this role, you will lead the mechanistic program that underpin