Assistant Professor - Heart and Vascular Institute

Penn State University•Tallahassee, FL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Penn State College of Medicine, Heart and Vascular Institute (HVI) located within the Department of Medicine, in Hershey, PA is seeking a non-tenure line Assistant Professor with expertise in protein engineering. Applicants with significant experience in protein design and engineering against the inflammatory immune responses in heart failure and tissue rejection will be considered. Candidate with prior experience in grant writing and demonstrated motivation to develop an independent academic NIH-funded research program will be preferred. Other laboratories within the HVI use multidisciplinary approaches to study the role of different immune subsets in regulating left-ventricular remodeling and cardiac dysfunction during heart failure and tissue rejection. Our research spans from human to animal studies, employing novel imaging and electrophysiologic techniques such as flow cytometry, and echocardiography providing a highly collaborative environment for the candidate to develop multi-disciplinary grant proposals. This is a term position; length of the term will be discussed during the interview process. Continuation past the term length discussed will be based on university need, performance, and/or availability of funding.

Requirements

Doctoral degree with expertise in molecular biology, drug-design and protein engineering focusing on chronic diseases of neurovascular or cardiovascular origin.
Proficient in basic laboratory techniques to perform immunoblotting assays, fluorescence imaging, and flow cytometry.
Ability to analyze the data collected and present the results in formal presentations, manuscripts, and grant applications.
Knowledge of lab practices and procedures in animal handling, dissection, Western blotting, PCR, fluorescence imaging, sub-cloning, and transfection.
Ability to work independently, with minimal supervision by PI.
Ability to perform routine duties using established procedures with coordination and effective communication with the PI.
Ability to communicate effectively with PI and other laboratory members as the projects are executed.
Excellent verbal and written communication required for manuscript and grant preparation.
Ability to contribute to the optimization of experimental procedures that require novel approaches.

Nice To Haves

Significant experience in protein design and engineering against the inflammatory immune responses in heart failure and tissue rejection.
Prior experience in grant writing and demonstrated motivation to develop an independent academic NIH-funded research program.
Prior experience in protein engineering, and drug-design.

Responsibilities

Develop a protein engineering lab within the HVI and help other principal investigators in developing novel multi-disciplinary projects.
Perform tissue harvesting, staining and flow analysis for immune cell subsets, data analysis, and finally, write manuscripts/grants originating from this data.
Help the supervising PI in laboratory maintenance (regulatory and administration) and independently performing small animal echocardiography, real-time measurements of function using 2D, M-mode, & Doppler technology, as well as data analysis.
Maintain cell lines, perform pharmacological assays of cell lines with the microplate reader, perform Western blotting assays and quantitative RT-PCR assays.
Independently monitor and carry out oversight of animal lines including transgenic mice colony maintenance, employing gel electrophoresis and PCR techniques.
Analyze and plot data obtained from the assays performed.
Provide training of other technicians to ensure that duties above are properly and aptly executed.