Postdoctoral Research Associate

Texas A&M University System • Houston, TX

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Texas A&M University Health Science Center is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to conduct translational pharmacology research in cancer therapeutics within the Drug Discovery Resource Center. The initial focus will be on the pharmacology of natural killer cell fortification, in collaboration with research partners at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The role involves research projects focused on mechanism of action, pharmacologic response, assay development, and translation of positive results toward patient treatment. The associate will also write and contribute to research papers, articles, and publications, and assist with the preparation and cleaning of the worksite. Collaboration with other researchers, faculty, and external partners is expected.

Requirements

• Appropriate PhD in a related field.
• Excellent verbal and written skills.
• Oral and written presentation skills.
• Analytical skills, including ability to interpret mechanism-of-action and pharmacologic response data.
• Attention to detail.
• Ability to work collaboratively with internal and external research partners.
• Ability to learn and apply drug discovery and development workflows, pharmacology concepts, translational research practices, and career-development planning activities.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in Higher Education
• Experience with molecular biology, protein biochemistry, mammalian cell culture, cell-based assay development, fluorescence/imaging, flow cytometry, or related methods.
• Experience with computational drug discovery, molecular modeling, structure-based design, or analysis software such as MOE, AlphaFold/Boltz, GraphPad Prism, Python/R, or related tools.
• Experience or interest in cancer pharmacology, immuno-oncology, natural killer cell biology, drug discovery and development, translational therapeutics, blood-brain barrier models, or neurodegenerative disease research.
• Evidence of effective written and oral communication, collaborative research, mentoring, and contribution to publications, presentations, or competitive fellowship/grant preparation.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research into their field of expertise under general supervision.
• Coordinate research activities with Drug Discovery Resource Center leadership and other collaborators to advance translational objectives.
• Utilize knowledge and skills to complete research projects in their field of expertise.
• Develop, adapt, and perform biochemical, cell-based, immunologic, imaging, and/or computational assays, including assay development and drug-discovery workflows.
• Analyze research data, summarize results, and interpret findings in the context of drug discovery and development.
• Write and contribute to research papers, articles, and publications.
• Assist with the preparation and cleaning of the worksite.
• May assist, mentor, and/or supervise student researchers and/or graduate students, including training in assay execution, data analysis, good laboratory practices, and collaborative drug discovery workflows.
• Prepare presentation materials on research topics for various groups, including internal meetings, advisory meetings, external collaborators, and research sponsors.
• Actively participate in the preparation of required technical progress reports.
• Participate in interdisciplinary proposal-team activities and assist with organization, data compilation, literature review, figure/table preparation, and technical documentation for external funding proposals.
• Contribute to emerging program efforts in drug discovery and development, including future projects involving blood-brain barrier models and neurodegenerative disease.
• Engage in individualized training in drug discovery and development, regulatory and commercial translation, collaborative research practices, career-development planning, and fellowship/grant preparation.
• Participate in structured professional-development activities, such as advisory-committee meetings, training program activities, and preparation for career-development opportunities.

Benefits

• Medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life and AD&D insurance
• Flexible spending accounts
• Long-term disability insurance
• Texas A&M contributing to employee health and basic life premiums
• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave each month
• At least eight hours of paid vacation each month
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
• Free exercise programs and release time
• Free LinkedIn Learning training, webinars
• Limited financial support to attend conferences, workshops, and more
• Educational release time and tuition assistance for completing a degree
• Living Well program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree