Sr. Research Associate, Pediatrics

WHY UT SOUTHWESTERN?
With over 75 years of excellence in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, UT Southwestern is committed to excellence, innovation, teamwork, and compassion. As a world-renowned medical and research center, we strive to provide the best possible care, resources, and benefits for our valued employees. Ranked as the number 1 hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth according to U.S. News & World Report, we invest in you with opportunities for career growth and development to align with your future goals. Our highly competitive benefits package offers healthcare, PTO and paid holidays, on-site childcare, wage, merit increases and so much more. We invite you to be a part of the UT Southwestern team where you'll discover a culture of teamwork, professionalism, and a rewarding career! 

JOB SUMMARY
Works under minimal direction to plan, coordinate, perform, and supervise performance of professional level medical or scientific research assignment related to particular or specialized field of endeavor. 

We are seeking a highly skilled research staff personnel member with expertise in murine models of liver disease, including neonatal handling, injection techniques, and tissue harvest. The ideal candidate will have experience in epithelial organoid culture from human liver tissues, immunofluorescence imaging, and co-culture assays to study epithelial-immune interactions, as well as familiarity with IACUC/IRB compliance and transcriptomic data interpretation.

Other desired experience includes:

• Proficiency in neonatal and adult mouse handling, injections (e.g., intraperitoneal, retro-orbital), and tissue harvest. 
   
• Experience with murine models of biliary atresia, including rotavirus infection protocols, monitoring survival, and scoring disease severity. 
   
• Immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy for liver and bile duct tissues. 
   
• Expertise in isolating and expanding epithelial organoids from human liver and bile duct biopsies. 
   
• Skilled in 3D culture systems using basement membrane extracts (e.g., Matrigel, BME), and media optimization. 
   
• Handling of organoids derived at both diagnosis and post-transplantation from pediatric patients. 
   
• Proliferation, viability, apoptosis, and differentiation assays. 
   
• Co-culture assays with immune cells to assess epithelial-immune interactions.
   
• Familiarity with transcriptomic data interpretation (e.g., from RNA-seq, scRNA-seq) is a plus. 
   
• Understanding of animal welfare regulations and human biospecimen research policies 
   
• Experience in preparing and updating IACUC and IRB protocols.

BENEFITS
UT Southwestern is proud to offer a competitive and comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees. Our benefits are designed to support your overall wellbeing, and include:

• PPO medical plan, available day one at no cost for full-time employee-only coverage
• 100% coverage for preventive healthcare-no copay
• Paid Time Off, available day one
• Retirement Programs through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
• Paid Parental Leave Benefit
• Wellness programs
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Qualified Employer
• Learn more about these and other UTSW employee benefits!

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION
Required

• Education
  PhD with major coursework in field of assignment and no experience or 
  Master's Degree with major coursework in field of assignment or 
  Bachelor's Degree with major coursework in field of assignment or 
   

• Experience
  No experience required with PhD or 
  5 years of laboratory experience with a Master's Degree including at least 
  2 years at level of Research Associ