Associate Staff Scientist

University of Arkansas•Little Rock, AR

29d•Onsite

About The Position

The Alge laboratory, based at UAMS and the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute, seeks a highly motivated and enthusiastic Associate Staff Scientist to pursue basic and translational research investigating mechanisms of microbial biofilm formation and disruption for applications in medical device and drug development. The successful applicant will be responsible for conducting in vitro and in vivo experiments to identify and characterize inhibitors of biofilm formation and biofilm disruptors and will lead efforts by the lab to develop anti-biofilm medical devices and drugs, with a focus on the development of biofilm-resistant dialysis catheters. This research will include work with bacterial and fungal BSL-2 pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida species. The applicant will be expected to work effectively both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary research team that also conducts research on nutrition, metabolism, and uremia in chronic kidney disease using both in vitro approaches, mouse models of kidney disease, and patient-derived biospecimens. The candidate will assist the PI in project planning, implementation, scientific writing of SOPs and regulatory protocols, preparation of grant applications, manuscripts, and presentations, lab management, and overseeing the training of other lab personnel. This is an initial one-year appointment, but it is renewable based on funding availability and satisfactory performance of the candidate.

Requirements

Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Sciences, Microbiology, Toxicology, Pathology, or related field and 4 years of relevant experience, including progressive staff and project management experience required.
Completion of an academic postdoctoral fellowship.
Expertise in microbiology and biofilm formation.
Demonstrated expertise with bacterial cell culture, molecular biology techniques (DNA, RNA, and protein extraction, PCR, RT-PCR, immunoblotting), microscopy, and mouse husbandry.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Persons must have proof of legal authority to work in the United States on the first day of employment.

Nice To Haves

Experience with the commercialization of intellectual property preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and optimize standard operating procedures, manage inventory, perform regular maintenance of lab equipment, develop and manage research protocols to maintain regulatory compliance, oversee and train lab technicians, students, and postdoctoral fellows.
Perform cell culture and in vitro assays on inhibitors and disruptors of biofilm formation.
Develop and test anti-biofilm medical devices and drugs, including preclinical testing in vertebrate animal models
Perform mouse husbandry and routine procedures, including tail snipping, ear tagging, collection of urine and blood, and necropsy
Utilize molecular biology techniques, including extraction of DNA, RNA, and protein extractions, PCR, RT-PCR, gel electrophoresis, and immunoblotting.
Prepare samples for transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, and microbiome analysis
Process and storage of patient-derived biospecimens
Perform accurate and timely record-keeping of experimental procedures
Process date analysis, charting/graphing, and presentation as directed by PI.
Perform literature searches to find research information on related procedures and previous studies
Prepare manuscript and grants.
Perform other duties as assigned.