LAB MANAGER

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (PBSCI) within the UW School of Medicine is the third largest clinical department  with 285 full-time faculty members, 280 clinical faculty members, and over 300 staff. Department faculty provide clinical services in 5 hospitals, 14 primary care locations, and several outpatient sites in addition to telepsychiatry consultations to more than 150 clinics in Washington and beyond. As the only academic psychiatry department serving the five state WWAMI region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho), the Department’s highly competitive residency training program is largely responsible for developing the mental health workforce in the Pacific Northwest. The Department’s robust research portfolio totals $35 million in grants and contracts per year for projects ranging from clinical neurosciences to treatment development to health policy and population health. The Department is recognized as an international leader in developing, testing, and implementing Collaborative Care, an integrated care model increasingly seen as a solution for population-based mental health care. Other areas of excellence include Addictions, Autism, High Risk Youth, Neurosciences, and Trauma, and the Department is developing innovative new programs in Technology and Mental Health, Global Mental Health, Maternal and Child Mental Health, and Targeted Intervention Development.

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is recruiting for a Lab Manager.

The Pravetoni lab at the University of Washington School of Medicine is focused on development of vaccines and antibody-based therapeutics to counteract opioid use disorders and overdoses. Our unique multidisciplinary research program integrates rational vaccine design, immunomodulators, formulation/delivery platforms, pre-clinical models, analysis of B and T cell lymphocyte repertoire, GLP/GMP studies to support regulatory approval and clinical evaluation, and ad hoc industry collaborations. Our team is currently undertaking Phase I clinical trials of vaccines targeting various opioids. Strategies and platforms are applied to development of vaccines or antibodies against biological or chemical threats.

We are seeking an individual responsible for complementary Laboratory Manager and Research Scientist tasks to support development vaccines and monoclonal antibodies by various technologies such as conjugation chemistry of small molecules to carrier proteins, hybridomas, cloning and expression of antibody binding regions into vectors, mammalian cell expression system.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lab Operations - The candidate will act primarily as Laboratory Manager tasked with ordering supplies for the entire laboratory, obtaining quotes from vendors, keeping track of reagents inventories, monitor freezers and fridges, monitor incubators and supplies for tissue culture rooms, ensure that cleaning chores are performed in a timely fashion, autoclaving and restocking supplies, order animals for in vivo studies, coordinate with animal facilities.
• The individual is expected to proactively interact with Building Manager to ensure that the laboratory environment is safe and up standard. The individual will likely coordinate schedule for rotating undergraduate student workers tasked with small projects related to ensure laboratory cleaning chores, buffer preparation, autoclaving or sterilizing reagents or equipment. The individual will be responsible for basic equipment maintenance such as Ph meters, vortex, scales.
• Research Duties - In addition to laboratory management tasks, the position will be also responsible for Research duties such as analysis of pre-clinical or clinical samples by basic assays such as ELISA to evaluate antibody levels. The individual is expected to perform experiments such as reagents validation, or carry out standard protocols such as evaluation of vaccine-specific antibody responses by ELISA in a variety of samples from pre-clinical and clinical studies. The individual will be expected to generate raw data in excel, and work with more senior staff to plot these data.
• The ideal candidate would show previous experience (or ability to learn) how to conduct animal studies under the supervision of more senior staff. Tasks may include labeling syringes, arranging cages to facilitate testing.
• The ideal candidate will assist in animal colony management (e.g., manage a mouse breeding program, or general inventory of animal studies). These duties will likely be carried out in collaboration with an animal technician.
• Depending upon experience and willingness to learn, the candidate will assist the PI and the Research manager or other faculty in the team to track projects via assisting with meeting scheduling and agendas.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Any relevant Biological or Chemistry discipline
• Two years work related experiences
• Previous experience in Laboratory Management in an academic laboratory]
• Perform Laboratory Management tasks such as weighing materials, performing calculations, mixing chemicals, performing routine tests, preparing aliquotes of reagents, cleaning and operating and performing minor maintenance of laboratory equipment such as pH meters, scales].
• [performs inventories of supplies, re-stock supplies, ensure that the lab is fully functional (e.g., pipette tips, buffers, cleaning glassware]
• Supervise 1-3 undergraduate trainees performing chores of lab maintenance such as cleaning
• Responsible for freezers, fridges, vaults and safes upkeep
• Organize schedule for lab meetings
• Keep up contact directory for laboratory members
• In charge of printers, supplies, minor IT-related issues (phone, cables, etc) to ensure Research staff and trainees are able to run smooth operations

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

DESIRED REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to independently seek out vendors, obtain quotes from vendors, place orders, track inventories, laboratory safety.
• Responsible for storing biological and chemical samples (freezers and fredges)
• Experience in seeking institutional approvals for conducting studies (IACUC or biosafety) is a plus
• Ability to run basic laboratory assays such as BCA, ELISA, Western Blot or PAGE is a plus
• Additional desired skills: animal colony management (e.g., manage a mouse breeding program, or general inventory of animal studies), or ability to occasionally assist with animal studies (prepare syringes, label vials, label cages, tissue collection) in collaboration or under the supervision of more senior scientists or trainees (post-docs, PhD students).
• Ability to track samples, inventory or animal studies by Excel, Gantt or equivalent system.
• Ability to use (learn how to use) Prism Graphpad software
• Depending upon experience and willingness to learn, the candidate will assist the PI and the Research manager or other faculty in the team to track projects via assisting with meeting scheduling and agendas.

Application Process:

The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Workforce Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.