LAB RESEARCH ANALYST II/Sr.

School of Medicine 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.

The Berger lab at Duke University Medical Center (https://anesthesiology.duke.edu/research/berger-lab)is looking for a talented lab research analyst II/Sr.(staff scientist) with experience in proteomic analysis (or similar ‘omics analysis and/or statistical background), to work on our NIH R01-funded project“APOE4-dependent regulation of CSF Complement Pathway Activation in the Development of Alzheimer’s Disease”. This project seeks to understand how and why APOE4 increases the risk for Alzheimer’s Disease. In particular, we are interested in the effect of APOE4 allele copy number on CSF complement protein levels and pathway activation throughout adult human life, based on our preliminary data that demonstrated lower CSF complement levels as a function of increasing APOE4 allele number in the ADNI consortium proteomics dataset (PMID 33337362). 

The rationale behind this work is that excessive complement-mediated synaptic pruning in APOE4 carriers could increase Alzheimer’s disease risk, a hypothesis supported by our preliminary human data and by data from multiple mouse models from several different labs. This work will involve the analysis of unbiased mass spec-based proteomic data and confirmatory ELISA assay data from ~500 CSF samples fromAPOE4 heterozygotes, homozygotes and non-carriers from across the adult human lifespan. This unique repository of hundreds of human CSF samples comes from several of our studies that have obtained CSF, as well as from collaborators across the USA and Europe. Additional aims of this project will study the relationship between CSF complement pathway activation and long term cognitive decline (independent of Ab and tau pathologies), and determine the effect of modulating APOE signaling in vivo on postoperative CNS complement activation in older adults (using unique perioperative CSF samples from our MARBLE trial-see PMID 32417770). 

This is an excellent opportunity for anyone whose PhD work (or masters degree or other recent work) included proteomics analysis (especially neuro proteomics) or similar statistical approaches. The actual mass spectroscopy assays for this project will be performed by the Duke proteomics facility; opportunities exist to learn more about the core facility mass spec rig and to learn about how to run these samples are run on it. This position will receive full benefits (including health insurance) from Duke University Medical Center, and will benefit from rich collaboration with the Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the larger neuroscience community at Duke. The position will be hired at either the II or senior level depending on relevant qualifications, education, and/or experience.

 

 

Minimum Qualifications

 

 

 

Education

Work requires a bachelor's degree in botany, biology, zoology, psychology or other directly related scientific field.

 

Experience

 

Work requires four years of research experience. A related master's OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE degree may offset required years of experience on a 1:1 basis, e.g., a two year master's degree in lieu of two years of experience.

 

Duke is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

 

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all in