Research Services Professional (Open Rank: Entry – Principal)

University of Colorado•Aurora, CO

3d•Onsite

About The Position

As a Research Services Professional in the Brambati Lab, you will gain valuable new skills at the bench while leveraging your strong organizational skills to manage a new and growing research group within the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Anschutz Medical Campus. A central responsibility of this position is serving as the tissue culture lead for the lab: maintaining cell lines, organizing supplies and reagents, upholding standard procedures, and managing iPSC culture and neuronal differentiation. No prior experience with iPSCs is required; full training will be provided. Any prior tissue culture experience is a plus. This position is open to all qualified and motivated individuals and may be of particular interest to those preparing to apply to medical or graduate school. The lab environment provides exposure to a broad array of concepts and techniques related to molecular biology research on DSB repair using cancer cells and stem cells as a model system. Our goal is to put your existing skills to use while exposing you to new idea and techniques that benefit your career goals and the lab’s overall productivity.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in biology, neuroscience, biochemistry, biomedical sciences, or related field.
A combination of education and related technical/paraprofessional experience may be substituted for the bachelor’s degree on a year for year basis.
One (1) year of professional level research experience (for Intermediate Level).
Two (2) years of professional level research experience (for Senior Level).
Three (3) years professional level research experience (for Principal Level).
Applicants must meet minimum qualifications at the time of hire.
Ability to communicate effectively, both in writing and orally.
Ability to organize diverse administrative and research tasks to reliably meet deadlines.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees at all levels throughout the institution.
Ability to interpret and master complex research protocol information.
Knowledge of laboratory techniques including safety procedures and techniques.
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without requiring sponsorship.
We are unable to provide work visa sponsorship and employment authorization for this position now or in the future.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in biology, neuroscience, biochemistry, biomedical sciences, or related field.
Prior experience or background within an experimental or wet lab.
Prior mammalian tissue culture experience (experience with iPSCs or stem cells is a plus but not required).
Doctoral degree in biology, neuroscience, biochemistry, biomedical sciences, or related field (for Principal Level).

Responsibilities

Collaborate with and support Principal Investigators (PI) and other stakeholders with laboratory, research, and administrative functions.
Learn and utilize a variety of laboratory techniques required for research projects. Depending on existing expertise and personal interests, these techniques may include: Transformation, bacterial culture, and mini/midi-preps for plasmid DNA purification. PCR, DNA digestion, and gel electrophoresis. Western blotting. CRISPR-Cas9-based assays and screening. Tissue culture management: serve as the lab's tissue culture lead under training and supervision. Organize tissue culture supplies and reagents and maintain all cell lines, with a particular focus on stem cell preparation, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and their differentiation into neurons. No prior iPSC experience is required; training will be provided. Any prior tissue culture experience is considered a plus. Immunostaining for protein localization studies. Confocal microscopy for high-resolution imaging. Generation of CRISPR-Cas9 knockout (KO) human cell lines.
Prepare lab for daily operations by ensuring safety and cleanliness.
Manage and maintain laboratory reagents and inventory.
Manage procurement via departmental software platform.
Maintain inventories of critical lab reagents and equipment.
Handle delivering, receiving, and retrieving frozen samples from freezers and physical inventory of frozen samples in -20 and -80C freezers.
Coordinate equipment maintenance as necessary.
Dispose of laboratory materials and samples using well-established guidelines and instructions.
Review and implement lab support policies, practices, and programs to meet organizational, operations, and management needs.
Ensure compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations; receive guidance and direction or escalate when required.
Independently and creatively identify laboratory solutions.
Independently review, develop, and implement new or modified laboratory techniques required for research projects.
Assist Team Leads, Supervisors, and/or management with creation and implementation of processes and procedures and quality improvement initiatives.
Assist and train junior team members.
Assist with developing or develop protocol-specific systems and documents including process flows, training manuals, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Maintain experimental documentation and prepare protocols, equipment, and supplies.
Provide laboratory science expertise and leadership in study design, experimental oversight, data management, data analysis, and manuscript preparation to assist all levels of investigators and researchers.
Act as a Subject Matter Expert and authority in the area(s) of DNA repair and/or stem cell biology.
Assist the PI with design, writing, and preparation of funding applications.
Oversee and provide informal leadership to team members, including managing day-to-day priorities, evaluating and redistributing workloads on a temporary basis, and mentoring staff.
Provide input and feedback to leadership on team members' overall performance, performance evaluations, opportunities for development, and process improvement initiatives.
Identify training and development opportunities for new and existing team members.
Presenting data or updating projects at weekly lab meetings and/or one-on-one with the PI.
Support and assist team members and researchers from collaborative groups on research projects, experimental designs, and laboratory-based methodologies.
Assist in all other projects as needed.