Staff Scientist - Pediatrics Gastroenterology

Washington University in St. Louis

13d • $48,000 - $86,900 • Onsite

About The Position

The Perlmutter lab is seeking a talented, highly motivated individual to join our team in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Nutrition of the Department of Pediatrics at WashU Medicine. The lab’s focus is research on the pathobiology of, and treatments for, α1antitrypsin deficiency (ATD), a rare disease in which the misfolded α1antitrypsin protein causes liver fibrosis/cancer by gain-of-toxic function and chronic obstructive lung disease by loss-of-function. One of our major areas of focus is discovery and testing of autophagy enhancer drugs to clear the toxic misfolded protein from the diseased liver. Over the last 10 years the lab has refined the use of cell line and mouse models for testing of new drug strategies, now focusing mainly on autophagy enhancer drugs. This work has been informed by a novel C. elegans model of antitrypsin deficiency that has been adapted to high-content screening of drug and RNAi libraries for new therapies for other protein aggregation disorders. The lab has now identified a lead candidate autophagy enhancer drug with in vivo efficacy for ATD and also efficacy in cellular models of Huntington’s disease and frontotemporal dementia (tauopathy), therein leading us to also believe this drug series will be ideal for the tauopathy of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Designs research protocols. Assists in developing and conducting research projects, including experiment design, data analysis and documentation of experiment results.

Requirements

• Master’s degree or combination of education and/or experience may substitute for minimum education.
• Laboratory Operations (3 Years)

Nice To Haves

• Ph.D. - Doctor of Philosophy
• Analytical Problem Solving
• Communication
• Computer Literacy
• Data Analysis
• Data Interpretations
• Protein Expression and Purification
• RNA Analysis
• RNA Purification

Responsibilities

• Following instructions and discussions with the principal investigator, designs research protocols, including developing procedures for the collection, verification and management of data.
• Assists with grant preparation and reporting.
• Performs complex statistical analysis of data collected and writes interpretative reports.
• Verifies the correctness of the data submitted and makes recommendations based on these analyses.
• Documents research topics and prepares and submits papers based on research work to publications and committees for publication or presentation to peers.
• Solves practical problems relating to difficulties with equipment or test subjects.
• Suggests technical or procedural improvements in testing methods.
• Conducts literature searches related to research project.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Up to 22 days of vacation, 10 recognized holidays, and sick time.
• Competitive health insurance packages with priority appointments and lower copays/coinsurance.
• Take advantage of our free Metro transit U-Pass for eligible employees.
• WashU provides eligible employees with a defined contribution (403(b)) Retirement Savings Plan, which combines employee contributions and university contributions starting at 7%.
• Wellness challenges, annual health screenings, mental health resources, mindfulness programs and courses, employee assistance program (EAP), financial resources, access to dietitians, and more!
• We offer 4 weeks of caregiver leave to bond with your new child. Family care resources are also available for your continued childcare needs. Need adult care? We’ve got you covered.
• WashU covers the cost of tuition for you and your family, including dependent undergraduate-level college tuition up to 100% at WashU and 40% elsewhere after seven years with us.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level