{"id":3432260,"url":"https://alion.io/job/retro-biosciences-phd-program-microglia-therapeutics","title":"PhD Program, Microglia Therapeutics","company":{"id":685643,"name":"Retro Biosciences","domain":"retro.bio","url":"https://alion.io/company/retro-6","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Lever","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":3,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":null,"computed_at":"2026-11-02T06:13:15Z"}},"role":"Early Careers","role_family":"Early Careers","seniority":null,"employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Redwood City, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":98638,"max":98638,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":98638},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-29T00:28:22Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-29","last_verified_at":"2026-11-02T06:37:39Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":4,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":4},"description":"Retro Biosciences develops therapies for diseases driven by the biology of aging. We focus on cellular reprogramming and autophagy to rejuvenate cell and tissue function with the ultimate aim of adding 10 years to healthy human lifespan.\nOur Microglia Therapeutics program is now accepting applications for a PhD fellow to join their team and Retro’s PhD program. Retro’s PhD is an accelerated 3-year, industry-based program.\nAs a fellow, you will support and lead aging and program-related research projects while progressing through key milestones designed to prepare you for a scientist role. You’ll gain exposure to a fast-paced startup environment and work under the guidance of leading scientists in the field. You’ll have access to all the resources of a well-funded company and the ability to accelerate your learning, as well as your experimentation volume. On the Microglia team, you will be involved in making iPSC-derived CNS cell-types including microglia and developing models to evaluate their therapeutic potential.\nThis is an accredited program with Retro College of Woolf University.\nAbout You:\nYou are highly motivated and eager to develop into an exceptional scientist. You approach your work with a growth mindset, showing deep curiosity, strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and a willingness to learn new techniques and technologies as needed. You enjoy hands-on experimental work and value thoughtful planning, organization, careful execution, and attention to detail. You are resourceful when experiments do not go as expected and comfortable learning through quick iteration. You are a highly collaborative teammate who communicates clearly, seeking to understand others and create an environment where sharing ideas, welcoming scientific challenge, and working together helps us accomplish our mission!\nIn this program, you will:\nLean into the immersive experience. This may mean experiments by day, writing in the evenings, and/or feeding cells on the weekends. It will definitely mean a huge opportunity for learning, mentorship, and personal and professional growth.\nContribute as an active member of the Microglia team:\nPerforming regular culture of mammalian cells, mainly cell lines and iPSCs using aseptic tissue culture techniques.\nDifferentiating iPSCs to brain cell-types including microglia, neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes.\nDifferentiating and optimizing 2D and 3D (organoids) culture protocols. \nPerforming cell-based and molecular assays to characterize the cells and prove function.\nProcessing animal tissue and performing downstream assays.\nSupporting development of new assays as needed as our research quickly progresses.\nPlan and execute wet lab and/or computational experiments as part of the team and independently.\nParticipate in cutting edge research with your team under your PI’s supervision.\nSelect research topics collaboratively with your team, in alignment with both your program goals and Retro’s mission.\nFoster collaboration with other internal groups, including Computational Biology, Automation, Vivarium, and Operations, to drive research progress.\nProduce extensive studies; publish and present your results at relevant conferences. \nWrite a thesis and conduct formal oral thesis defense before your thesis committee.\nMeet growth expectations and milestones of progressive independence and by the end of the program have developed into an independent scientist. \nYou will thrive in this program if you have:\nGeneral:\nAn MS in Biology or a related field. This is a European-style PhD program that does not start off with intro classes like an American PhD; you need to hit the ground running.\nExperience with standard tissue culture and tissue processing techniques.\nProven ability to drive things to completion by yourself and in the team; highly self-motivated to make progress on research and writing.\nDemonstrated organizational skills, time management, and attention to detail.\nA passion for research on aging and age-related diseases.\nProgram-specific bonus skills:\nExperience with iPSC culture.\nExperience performing differentiation of iPSCs to neural cell-types or myeloid cells.\nExperience with cryosectioning and more specifically, working with brain tissue.","description_format":"text","description_chars":4256,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"master","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Drug Discovery"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-29T01:06:34Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 3","filings_12m":3,"filings_prev_12m":2,"green_card_filings_12m":0,"median_offered_wage_usd":187500,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-29T16:27:21+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":86,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.86,"p_room":1,"age_days":4,"expected_fill_days":30,"reasons":["conf:3","win:early"],"computed_at":"2026-11-02T06:13:15Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":98638,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/retro-biosciences-phd-program-microglia-therapeutics","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/retro-biosciences-phd-program-microglia-therapeutics.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-02T07:06:34Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":9936,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-03T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":685643},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=685643"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fretro-biosciences-phd-program-microglia-therapeutics"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fretro-biosciences-phd-program-microglia-therapeutics"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fretro-biosciences-phd-program-microglia-therapeutics"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/retro-biosciences-phd-program-microglia-therapeutics\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fretro-biosciences-phd-program-microglia-therapeutics"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3432260}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"retro.bio","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3432260},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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