RESEARCH TECHNICIAN II

Duke Careers • Durham, NC

13d • $19 - $29 • Onsite

About The Position

Established in 1930, Duke University School of Medicine is the youngest of the nation's top medical schools. Ranked sixth among medical schools in the nation, the School takes pride in being an inclusive community of outstanding learners, investigators, clinicians, and staff where interdisciplinary collaboration is embraced and great ideas accelerate translation of fundamental scientific discoveries to improve human health locally and around the globe. Composed of more than 2,500 faculty physicians and researchers, more than 1,300 students, and more than 6,000 staff, the Duke University School of Medicine along with the Duke University School of Nursing, Duke University Health System and the Private Diagnostic Clinic (PDC) comprise Duke Health. a world-class academic medical center. The Health System encompasses Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, Duke Raleigh Hospital, Duke Primary Care, Duke Home and Hospice, Duke Health and Wellness, and multiple affiliations.Be You. The Duke Center for Human Systems Immunology is seeking a detail-oriented scientist to fulfill a key role as Research Technician II to perform development and standardization assays for influenza research.  The person in this role will also play a key role in performing assays to assess the antibody response to vaccination against influenza. The study results generated by the person in this role will inform human clinical and pre-clinical trials for vaccines. This person must be very organized, possess excellent communication skills, have a high level of technical precision, be interested in assay development and optimization, enjoy working in a fast-paced lab environment with multiple priorities, and be able to work well as part of a team. A competitive salary and benefits package will be provided according to the Duke University School of Medicine guidelines.

Requirements

• Work generally requires a bachelor's degree in botany, biology, zoology, psychology or other directly related scientific field.
• No experience required above education/training requirement.
• OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE
• Must be able to manage multiple rapidly changing priorities and quickly learn new skills
• Must be detail-oriented and well organized with strong communication skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced interactive team environment.

Nice To Haves

• Background in laboratory techniques, experience with cell culture and infectious material is a plus.
• Two years of research experience or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.

Responsibilities

• Perform complex and highly technical assays including but not limited to microneutralization, and hemagglutination inhibition assays in the laboratory to develop new methods and protocols, optimize reagents, test experimental conditions, and determine feasibility of assays for influenza and emerging infectious diseases.
• Perform complex and highly technical assays including but not limited to microneutralization, and hemagglutination inhibition assays in the laboratory to evaluate antibody dynamics in samples from clinical and preclinical vaccine trials.
• Maintain laboratory notebook in an orderly fashion for tracking experiments and results. Carefully and accurately document assay conditions, results, and quality control findings and report them promptly to meet deadlines.  Provide written updates of work each week.
• Assist with data analysis and participating in discussions of next steps for follow up assays and in assay design.
• Maintain and grow mammalian cell lines.  Create frozen cell banks and perform cell line QC as needed.
• Assist the laboratory and project managers by contributing to the overall effort to streamline the workload, improve the efficiency of the laboratory, and contribute to the daily laboratory effort to adhere to Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP) guidelines.
• Maintain laboratory and associated equipment in a clean, well-ordered, and functional manner including routine equipment maintenance.  Maintain laboratory inventory and keep laboratory well stocked with a well-planned inventory and ordering system.  Prepare stock assay reagents and buffers as needed.

Benefits

• Duke provides comprehensive and competitive medical and dental care programs, generous retirement benefits, and a wide array of family-friendly and cultural programs to eligible team members.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees