Experience level: Bachelor’s degree with 2+ years of experience, Master’s degree with 1+ years of experience, or PhD in cell biology or related discipline.

Skillset 

• Mammalian cell culture and aseptic technique

• Hands-on experience with mammalian cell culture is required; experience with stem cells is preferred

• Experience in cell characterization techniques (e.g., flow cytometry) and functional assays (e.g., cell proliferation, ELISAs) is highly desirable

• Self-motivated, and highly organized with excellent record-keeping skills and attention to detail

• Effective communication and interpersonal skills

• Ability to work effectively with peers in a results-oriented, fast-paced research environment

• Experience with three-dimensional culture systems is a plus. 

The position

Conception is a dynamic startup focused on pioneering advancements in human reproductive therapy. We’re looking for a highly committed Senior Research Associate or Associate Scientist to join our Ovarian Somatic Cell Team at Conception. This role involves hands-on in vitro work with human iPSCs and differentiation work to produce functional ovarian somatic cells as a critical part of producing viable human eggs from stem cells.

Responsibilities

• Assist with the setup and differentiation of ovarian somatic cell cultures

• Maintain cultures, including routine media changes and monitoring cell health

• Prepare and organize media and small molecule aliquots for the team

• Collect samples for downstream analysis and routine quality control assessment, such as immunofluorescence or next-generation sequencing, document metadata from collected cells and submit samples for processing

• Ensure proper maintenance and calibration of key equipment, including biological safety cabinets (BSCs), incubators, and vacuum traps

• Maintain detailed and accurate records of all cell culture tasks and experimental procedures

• Support general lab operations and contribute to a collaborative and efficient working environment

• Document experimental data in electronic laboratory notebooks in a timely and accurate manner

• Depending on the level of experience and independence, execute co-created experimental designs and routine data analysis

Our mission

Conception is a startup with the mission of generating viable human eggs from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Successful development of our research could have many benefits, such as removing age limits on motherhood, allowing for easy screening of eggs with harmful genetic mutations, and allowing same-sex couples to reproduce. This has been done in mice, and now we are working to translate it to humans.

Our research  

To accomplish our goal, we must derive human germ and ovarian somatic cells from iPSCs. These germ cells should resemble both the transcriptional and epigenetic profile of in vivo germ cells that are able to enter meiosis and develop to viable human eggs and somatic cells should support these germs cells in development and maturation. We create ovarian organoids from stem cell derived cell types to help the eggs develop properly.

What we are looking for

Mission alignment as well as a solid scientific background with a reliable track-record in executing experiments is something we strongly care about. We are looking for teammates with great communication skills that are very organized and thrive in a highly collaborative, dynamic, flexible and fast paced environment.

While expertise is valued, we can provide training in areas of inexperience if you are passionate about our goal. There is no requirement for prior experience working on reproductive cells or iPSCs -- we love it when people come to work with us from different backgrounds and bring new ideas and techniques to our lab. 

Come and work with us

We are well-funded and well-connected in Silicon Valley. We offer competitive pay, company equity, and excellent healthcare benefits for these positions.

‍To learn more about the original mouse proof of concept to live birth that inspired us, see https://www.nature.com/articles/nature20104

To learn more about us, our mission, and approach you can read two features published by The New Yorker and the MIT Technology review.