Summer Intern - Mass Spectrometry

Key Skills

Analytical Techniques, Computational Algorithms, Genomic data, Machine learning techniques, Mass Spectrometry, Microscopy, Proteomics, Spring Boot

Job Description

The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub (https://www.czbiohub.org) is a one-of-a-kind independent nonprofit research institute that brings together three powerhouse universities - Stanford, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco - into a single collaborative technology and discovery engine. CZ Biohub itself supports some of the brightest, boldest engineers, data scientists, and biomedical researchers to make breakthroughs in medicine and develop new technologies, frequently in collaboration with our partner universities. We are guided by our values of scholarly excellence; disruptive innovation; hands-on engineering/hacking/building; partnership and collaboration; open communication and respect; inclusiveness; and opportunity for all.

Our Vision

• We pursue large scientific challenges that cannot be pursued in conventional environments
• We enable individual investigators to pursue their riskiest and most innovative ideas
• The technologies developed at CZ Biohub facilitate research by scientists and clinicians at our home institutions and beyond

Diversity of thought, ideas, and perspectives are at the heart of CZ Biohub and enable disruptive innovation and scholarly excellence. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive organization where all colleagues feel inspired and know their work makes an important contribution.

The Biohub's Summer Internship Program offers currently enrolled undergraduate students the opportunity to work on research projects in a one-of-a-kind environment onsite in San Francisco, CA. This 10-week program provides interns with hands-on experience, mentorship and training, and personal and professional development designed to meet interns where they are at while also propelling them forward in their career.

The internship program goals are to:

• Help interns build a strong foundation in scientific research and laboratory skills
• Provide scientific education and enrichment to underserved and underrepresented groups in STEM

(Students from historically marginalized or underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.)

• Establish valuable and sustainable mentoring relationships
• Equip interns with the skills and network needed to be competitive in STEM
• Build a pipeline of STEM professionals

The Opportunity

The Mass Spectrometry platform is seeking a talented undergraduate student to join the team for the 10-week program in San Francisco, CA. The successful candidate will help the team work towards integrating metabolomics (using mass spectrometers to measure small molecules) with proteomics (using mass spectrometers to measure proteins). The Platform has active research areas that span both of these general disciplines, and is identifying new ways to gain new biological insight by considering both at once. Through this experience, interns may:

• Implement and optimize biochemical approaches for extracting metabolites and proteins from single biological specimens
• Process archival data with new computational pipelines aimed at unifying metabolomic and proteomic data
• Develop and apply machine learning approaches for discovering patterns in large multi-omic data sets

You Will 

• Receive support through a 10-week research experience
• Receive mentorship to support your personal and professional development
• Gain and enhance your technical and transferable skills through trainings and seminars
• Learn how to design, plan, and carry out laboratory and/or computational scientific experiments
• Present at the end-of-program symposium
• Build relationships with peers and colleagues

You Have

Program Eligibility –

• Must be a current undergraduate student (enrolled full time at a college or university both Spring 2023 and Fall 2023 terms)
• Must be able to commit to the 10-week Summer Internship Program (May 30, 2023-August 4, 2023)
• Must be able to be onsite at the Biohub for the duration of the program

Skills Required –

• For wet lab objectives, the ideal candidate would have experience with fundamental laboratory practices: (e.g., accurate pipetting technique) and familiarity with standard laboratory equipment (e.g., centrifuges, pH meters)
• For computational objectives, the ideal candidate would have some prior experience with scripting languages (e.g., Python) and some experience with database architecture (e.g., SQL)

Preferred Qualifications –

• Experience with mass spectrometry instrumentation
• Familiar with mass spectrometry data
• Understanding of analytical chemistry techniques (e.g., HPLC)
• Experience with machine learning algorithms

Chan Zuckerberg Biohub requires all employees, contractors, and interns, regardless of work location or type of role, to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, including a booster vaccine dose, if eligible, by their start date. Those who are unable to get vaccinated or obtain a booster dose because of a disability, or who choose not to be vaccinated due to a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance must have an approved exception prior to their start date.

What We Provide

• Resources to disrupt and innovate at the frontiers of our knowledge of biology and disease
• A collegial and collaborative environment consisting of diverse expertise
• Existing collaborations within CZ Biohub: Technology Platforms (Bioengineering, Computational Microscopy, Data Science, Genomic Sequencing, Mass Spectrometry/Proteomics), Infectious Disease, and Quantitative Cell Science
• Access to collaborators, resources and facilities at our three partner universities (Stanford, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco) and at partner organizations in the Bay Area and beyond
• Competitive compensation and benefits commensurate with the experience

Intern Benefits

• Hands-on, one-of-a-kind experience
• Hourly compensation
• Opportunity to live in CZ Biohub-sponsored housing
• Invaluable relationships
• Trainings and seminars
• Social events/activities