RESEARCH SCIENTIST (PROJECT/TEMPORARY)

The University of Washington (UW) is proud to be one of the nation’s premier educational and research institutions. Our people are the most important asset in our pursuit of achieving excellence in education, research, and community service. Our staff not only enjoys outstanding benefits and professional growth opportunities, but also an environment noted for diversity, community involvement, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits, and natural beauty.

At the University of Washington, diversity is integral to excellence. We value and honor diverse experiences and perspectives, strive to create welcoming and respectful learning environments, and promote access, opportunity and justice for all.

The University of Washington, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology is a broad and dynamic department that strives for a consistent level of high achievement in all of its activities. The Department offers full diagnostic services in all areas of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, is a top ranked research organization as measured by research awards from the National Institutes of Health and offers an array of specialized educational training programs.

The UW Medicine Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology brings together state-of-the-art technology and highly trained, world-renowned personnel to provide comprehensive diagnostic and personalized service to physicians, community hospitals, independent laboratories, and other health care organizations. Our operations are based at the University of Washington Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, South Lake Union, Northwest Hospital and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Faculty members also serve at Seattle Children's Hospital, the Veteran’s Administration Puget Sound Healthcare System, and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. These collaborative efforts have generated innovative, translational studies in the basic mechanisms of disease as they apply to diagnostic laboratory medicine and pathology.

The UW BioRepository and Integrated Neuropathology (BRaIN) Research Laboratory has an outstanding position for a Temporary , Full-Time Research Scientist 2 (max 12-months).

This is an excellent opportunity for the scientist to participate in a team whose goal is to support human brain research from initial donation to state-of-the-art cell and molecular tissue research. The Research Scientist 2 will independently lead complex procedures associated with research donor brain collection, dissection, preservation and analysis, and will lead an on-call team for these cases.  Additional compensation for after-hours call is provided. They will monitor and direct junior staff to ensure correct procedures are followed. They will independently dissect and assess key anatomical structures (> 90) to isolate for experimental tissue analysis with minimal supervision. They will follow and in some cases develop needed protocols to extract tissue analytes, including but not limited to RNA, DNA, protein, cell types, etc for tissue and tissue and fluid-based immunoassays.  The research scientist 2 will also provide support for in silico 3D reconstructions of gross brain images. The research scientist 2 will also provide support for in silico 3D reconstructions of gross brain images and tissue and fluid-based immunoassays. In addition, they may participate in other laboratory projects, which may include tissue clearing and staining for three dimensional microscopic reconstructions, downstream analytical approaches including solution-phase quantitation and digital image analysis, and human cell culture projects.

The successful applicant will be required to use care and maintain instruments; perform quality control and quality assurance; perform research and assist in development of new procedures; monitor reagent use and perform preventative maintenance on instruments according to prescribed protocols.  The successful applicant will be expected to organize and maintain databases on research projects and to navigate the laboratory and pathology computer networks, participate in lab and other meetings, provide regular progress updates, review work lists and prioritize work in conjunction with the PI and interaction with the research team and collaborators. The successful applicant will contribute to maintaining updated protocols in the lab and will interface with senior research scientists and the PI, particularly with respect to methods and manuscript preparation. Finally, the research scientist 2 will be expected to assist with a variety of special projects, and research related duties as assigned in a research environment where innovation and novel analytic applications form the foundation of an integrated model of precision neuropathology.  

This position has operational access to patient health information and clinical materials including pathology specimens and archival blocks and slides, and for these activities must adhere to the covered entity HIPPA Privacy and CLIA rules and has 'dotted line' reporting to the CLIA certificate holders and applicable clinical laboratory management staff.

Requirements: 

Minimum education requirement of a Bachelor's Degree with coursework in neuroscience, chemistry, biology, other biological sciences or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Two to four year's experience in a related area or equivalent.

Desired: 

Experience with any or all of the following: autopsy, brain removal, tissue dissection, cellular and molecular neuroscience.  

Conditions of Employment: 

UW Research Scientists are essential to BRaIN research laboratory activities; this position occasionally requires work after-hours, weekends and or outside normal business hours.   

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 Work 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.