Staff Research Associate 1/2 - Neurological Surgery

UCSF•San Francisco, CA

1d•$30 - $36•Onsite

About The Position

The Staff Research Associate (SRA) position will perform duties that are crucial to providing services to the UCSF Neurosurgery Dept., the Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center and outside institutions. This employee will help procure brain tumor specimens from surgeries, provide histology services for both research and clinical purposes. The SRA will play an integral part in maintaining and building upon our 46-year-old repository. Perform tissue collection, processing and other specialized histological and immunohistochemical tasks within a revenue-generating core facility in support of the UCSF Brain Tumor Center.

Requirements

BA/BS in Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy, or related science; or an equivalent combination of education and experience
BA/BS in Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy, or related science, including one year of related work experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience
Knowledge and experience of cell culture and basic laboratory techniques
Experience managing large amounts of data for special projects
Mathematical proficiency for preparing antibody dilutions
Experience with basic lab procedures and instrumentation set-up
Experience with basic sterile techniques for tissue culture cell line maintenance
Demonstrated ability to follow instructions and multi-task to meet project deadlines; possess strong attention to details to ensure high quality data
Proven proficiency with Microsoft Office Excel and Word

Nice To Haves

Competency with MS Access
Experience operating with the Ventana Automated Immunostainer
Experience working with human biospecimens
Experience working in a CLIA laboratory and understanding the importance of maintaining patient confidentiality
Experience with tissue collection, preparation and other related logistics for clinical trials

Responsibilities

Collecting, processing and archiving neurological tumor tissues and blood samples for use by Brain Tumor Center investigators and for NeuroOncology clinical trials. These surgeries may occasionally run longer than scheduled and will require staying past 5pm.
Data entry of patient and biospecimen information into Tissue Bank databases and sample tracking system.
Operating and maintaining core equipment: automatic tissue processor, Ventana automated immunostainers, liquid nitrogen storage systems, microtome and cryostat.
Processing histology requests that entails the generation of paraffin or frozen sections.
DNA isolation from various sources of tissue or blood.
Retrieve and verify consents.
Archive sample retrieval (both frozen and paraffin) for histology or clinical requests.
Maintaining human and animal cell cultures to ensure adequate inventory in the Tissue Bank for distribution.
Performing immunohistochemical staining for major Core projects as well as other individual investigators.
Maintaining antibody inventory, tracking and updating protocol changes, organizing control slides in order to assure results and best utilize resources.
Performing and documenting clinical IHC work: test slides, controls, instrument logs and pathologist review sheets as required by CLIA standards.
Quantifying MIB-1 labeling index to predict tumor cell proliferation and invasiveness.
Performing tissue collection, processing within a revenue-generating Core facility in support of the UCSF Brain Tumor Center.
Collect brain tumor samples from the OR—including image-guided biopsies and biospecimens for clinical trials.
Blood processing, transfer and archiving of samples.
Maintain human and animal cell cultures to ensure adequate inventory in the Tissue Bank for distribution.
Documenting consent.
Data entry of patient and biospecimen information into Tissue Bank Databases, and Special Studies website.
Quantifying MIB-1 labeling index to predict tumor cell proliferation and invasiveness.
Retrieve archived samples per request (frozen, paraffin-embedded, tissue & cell culture), perform required preparation for sample distribution (sectioning, staining, pathology review) and managing samples (filing and ordering blocks).
Operating the Ventana automated IHC instrument.
Archiving stained test slides, corresponding controls and maintaining appropriate documentation for clinical IHC requests according to CLIA and HIPAA standards.
Processing histology requests that entails the generation of paraffin or frozen sections.
Performing immunohistochemical staining for major Core projects as well as other individual investigators.
Pull patient information and molecular test results for image-guided studies and database entry.
Operating and maintaining core equipment (cryostat, automatic tissue processor, Ventana automated immunostrainer, liquid nitrogen storage systems, tissue embedder, and microtome).
Disposing hazardous waste.