The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA seeks applications for an Assistant Instrumentation Specialist in the Biochemistry Instrumentation facility.
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The Biochemistry Instrumentation facility provides the UCLA biochemistry research community with easy access to sophisticated instrumentation for the characterization of biological macromolecules and their interactions. The Assistant Specialist will be responsible for the training and assistance in the use of technical equipment including a Microcal iTC-200 Isothermal Titration Calorimeter, a ForteBio BLItz (which uses Bio-layer interferometry to measure bimolecular interactions), A Bio-Rad CFX Connect quantitative PCR system, a Tecan Infinite M1000 Plate reader, and a SEC-MALS system (consisting of a GE AKTA chromatography system with a Wyatt miniDawn TREOS multiangle light scattering detector in tandem with an Optilab T-rEX differential refractometer). The Assistant Specialist will maintain the equipment and provide expertise in its use and operation. In order to effectively run this facility, the help of a senior scientist is absolutely necessary.

The Assistant Specialist will also be responsible for supervising graduate students and junior postdoctoral fellows working in this area. Candidates should have a minimum of a Masters of Science in chemistry and expertise in operating and training students and staff in the use and analyses of results obtained with the equipment.

The Assistant Specialist will report directly to the faculty directors of the facility, and will work in concert with the lab manager of the facility. The successful candidate is expected to have working knowledge of all laboratory SOPs and other safety procedures, and to work with the PI and the group safety officer to maintain a safe and productive working environment.

Candidates should provide a cover letter including description of background and qualifications, curriculum vitae, and should arrange for 3 letters of reference to be uploaded to UCLA Academic Recruit.

Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. The University of California is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

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 The UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry would like to welcome Ellen Sletten, who will join our department as an Assistant Professor in 2016.   Prof. Sletten's research will focus on the areas of Analytical Chemistry, Biophysics, Materials & Nanoscience, and Organic Chemistry.  She will take up residency in the department in January 2016. 
Prof. Sletten received her B.S. in Chemistry from Stonehill College in 2006 where she worked in the laboratory of Prof. Louis Liotta on the synthesis of alkaloid glycosidase inhibitors. During her undergraduate education, she also performed research in Prof. Kara Bren’s group at the University of Rochester and Prof. Neil Thomas’s group at the University of Nottingham. Prof. Sletten pursued her Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley with Prof. Carolyn Bertozzi where she received an ACS Division of Organic Chemistry Fellowship. Her thesis work involved the optimization and development of bioorthogonal chemistries and their subsequent applications in labeling living systems. Upon graduation in 2011, Prof. Sletten joined the laboratory of Prof. Tim Swager at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow where she worked with soft fluorous materials for use in fluorescent sensors.  The Sletten Group will exploit the unique properties of fluorinated materials to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic technologies. Research within the group will involve an interdisciplinary mix of organic synthesis, fluorous chemistry, chemical biology, nanomedicine, supramolecular chemistry, polymer synthesis, photophysics and pharmacology. Through the course of our work, we will develop new light-activated theranostics, efficient polymeric drug delivery scaffolds, and novel chemistries for the bioorthogonal chemical reporter strategy. Additionally, we will gain fundamental insight into the intriguing properties of perfluorinated compounds and their interactions with biological systems.  

The department of Chemistry and Biochemistry would like to congratulate Professor Anastassia Alexandrova, who was recently promoted to the rank of Associate Professor, effective July 1, 2015.
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The list of winners and photos from the 2014 Departmental Awards Ceremony are now available for viewing online. On Friday, November 21, we held our annual Departmental Awards Ceremony. In addition to recognizing the efforts of our accomplished students and faculty, we had an opportunity to celebrate our Department's excellence in teaching and research.  See More >>