Scheduled Hours

40

Position Summary

The Siteman Cancer Center is seeking an organized and motivated individual to join the Sample Processing Group within the Tissue Procurement Core (TPC) shared research laboratory. This position is responsible for a broad range of laboratory tasks needed to support cancer and other biomedical research studies. Duties include human tissue and blood biospecimen processing, basic laboratory equipment use and maintenance, and support of general quality control functions needed for laboratory operations. A successful candidate will have strong clerical accuracy, exceptional organization and time-management skills, a solid understanding of basic computer applications, experience working in a laboratory environment and should be motivated to join a fast-paced laboratory environment.

Job Description

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

• Human biospecimen (tissue/blood) processing and storage following Standard Operating Procedures. Blood processing techniques used include traditional centrifugation approaches to separating whole blood into serum/plasma/white blood cells, as well as, more sophisticated approaches (i.e. Ficoll processing) to separate blood into liquid and specific cellular fractions. Tissue processing techniques include snap-freezing tissue specimens and preparing/embedding specimens for frozen sectioning.
• Isolation of nucleic acids from a variety of specimen sources (cells, tissue, bio-fluids) following Standard Operating Procedures relying on traditional solid-phase silica spin-column technology platforms or traditional liquid phase extraction techniques.
• Perform data entry into biospecimen inventory management system to track specimen processing, creation, storage, retrieval, and distribution for many different cancer and other medical research projects.
• Perform general maintenance of equipment (e.g. centrifuge, freezers) and maintain thorough and detailed records of execution.
• Monitor and evaluate laboratory supplies to ensure consistent and adequate supply for laboratory activities, assisting with general supply orders.
• Participate in the On-Call program for monitoring storage equipment and environmental systems required for storage of biospecimens (non-business hours).
• Perform Quality Control and Quality Assurance functions for biorepository activities defined in the TPC Quality Management System. Activities include review, revision and compliance with all laboratory Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and other controlled documents, incident reporting and investigation, implementation of Corrective and Preventative Action (CAPA), maintenance of training records and compliance with all laboratory safety procedures.

Working Conditions:
Job Location/Working Conditions:

• Exposure to chemicals.
• Requires protective devices.

Physical Effort:

• Typically sitting at desk or table.
• Lab/research equipment.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job duties performed by the personnel so classified. Management reserves the right to revise or amend duties at any time.

Required Qualifications

Education:

High school diploma or equivalent high school certification or combination of education and/or experience.

Certifications:

No specific certification is required for this position.

Work Experience:

Healthcare (2 Years)

Skills:

Not Applicable

Driver's License:

A driver's license is not required for this position.

More About This Job

WashU seeks highly motivated individuals who are able to perform duties in a manner consistent with our core mission and guiding principles.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

No additional education beyond what is stated in the Required Qualifications section.

Certifications:

No additional certification beyond what is stated in the Required Qualifications section.

Work Experience:

No additional work experience beyond what is stated in the Required Qualifications section.

Skills:

Computer Literacy, Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA), Customer Empathy, Customer Service, Data Entry, Data Organization, Equipment Maintenance, Eye-Hand Coordination, Lab Maintenance, Laboratory Instrumentation, Liquid Extraction, Multitasking, Nucleic Acid Isolation,