Research Scientist/Engineer 1

University of Washington•Seattle, WA

About The Position

The Research Scientist/Engineer 1 will facilitate several ongoing research projects spanning basic science studies and clinical medicine, and interactions with several University Departments (Urology, Medicine, and Pathology) as well as collaborations with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. This person will work under limited supervision to complete assigned tasks/projects demonstrating an ability to work independently. Overall direction will be supplied by the Biorepository Manager in routine meetings. The employee will be responsible for following these general guidelines and for making adjustments to these directions as the need arises. The employee will eventually be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day performance of work-study students who help complete routine duties and for assuring that they follow all safety regulations. The employee will also act as a Team Leader for our on-call rapid Tissue Acquisition Necropsy (TAN) program, coordinating and guiding a team of research scientists and physicians through tissue collections. Complexities This position is in the Department of Urology's Genitourinary Cancer Research Laboratory, within the biospecimen acquisition and processing group. This position involves acquiring peripheral blood, tissue, biopsies, and urine specimens from the operating room, the urology clinic, and the morgue (a tissue acquisition) and processing and storing the specimens according to protocol. This position will supervise undergraduate work-study students. Incumbents perform routine scientific work, collecting, processing, and applying standardized scientific procedures and techniques

Requirements

A Bachelor's degree in the basic biological sciences is required with an emphasis in one of the biology disciplines
Equivalent education and/or experience may substitute for minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license, certification, and/or registration.
One year of relevant experience including the following:
Experience working in a Genitourinary Laboratory
Experience in the handling and processing of human tissues, blood, and urine
Experience with research autopsy collections
Experience with research sample inventory management
Experience supervising student employees
Familiarity with spreadsheets and databases
Must be able to work under limited supervision to complete assigned tasks/projects and demonstrate an ability to work independently.
This position requires flexibility in the working hours, including extension into the evening when processing of specimens mandate, and on occasion requires working outside of the standard workweek.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with clinical databases and/or EPIC systems is desirable
Experience with laboratory techniques such as tissue sectioning and staining

Responsibilities

Blood and Urine Collection and Processing for clinical trials and research (65%): Utilize excellent attention to detail while logging human subjects consent forms, assigning lab IDs, and following clinical study protocols. Use appropriate precautions while isolating serum, buffy coat, and/or plasma from blood specimens and processing urine samples on a daily basis. Apply exceptional organizational skill and attention to detail when working with multiple protocols for sample acquisition and processing. Accommodate frequent changes in the clinic & operating room schedule, which will necessitate working a variable, on demand, schedule. Contribute to the maintenance and organization of the Biospecimen freezers and arrange occasional shipping of specimens to Study Sites.
Collection and Documentation of Data (20%): · Must be very attentive to detail and keep highly accurate records of specimens received and processed. Demonstrate proficiency in data collection and input of data into databases. Complement these tasks with ability to run database queries to retrieve selected and sorted data.
Other Related Duties (10%): Interact in a collaborative manner with other team members to accomplish organizational goals and provide ideas for improved efficiency. Define and improve practices from experiences on small projects. Learn new techniques as required for optimal job performance.
Lead an on-call rapid Tissue Acquisition Necropsy (TAN) team (5%): Rotate (every third week) as a leader of a TAN team. Coordinate the arrival of the patient, physicians, and team to the morgue and oversee the collection. Assist with the processing of samples, ensure all documentation is complete and accurate, and arrange for final transportation of the patient. The TAN program necessitates that the applicant be in the laboratory within two hours of being paged. Each laboratory member participates in approximately 4-5 rapid autopsies per year.
Perform other duties as assigned