Research Technician II - Diorio Lab

SHIFT:

Day (United States of America)

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A Brief Overview

Researcher under the direction of Dr. Caroline Diorio, dedicated to understanding the immune toxicities associated with chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CART). This lab focuses on developing new therapies for patients with leukemia, and making CART safer by better understanding toxicities like CRS, ICANS and IEC-HS. The researcher will process research patient samples and be responsible for maintaining a database of samples. They will perform in vitro experiments, ELISA, and other protein and DNA measurement techniques.

The researcher is furthermore part of a multidisciplinary team of translational scientists, geneticists, and bioinformaticians to develop the deep understanding needed to guide therapeutic augmentation of novel therapies for leukemia. The researcher is expected to write summaries, analyze data, and help prepare presentations for collaborative partners.  A minimum commitment of 2 years is required for this position.

A BS or BA degree in a scientific discipline is strongly preferred. Candidates with prior laboratory experience, particularly with animal studies, will be prioritized. The candidate must be able to commit 2 full-time years to this position. Potential for a longer-term position exists if appropriate contingent upon positive performance evaluations. A successful applicant must be a highly collaborative, collegial team player with an ability to work well with others in a translational laboratory setting and with good instincts and experimental troubleshooting skills. He or she will be supervised in part by a senior PhD scientist/laboratory manager and work closely with PhD- or MD-trained post-doctoral fellows and other BA/BS-trained research technicians.

What you will do

• Process patient leukemia specimens following appropriate training, handle confidential patient-related materials, and maintain a protected database of confidential patient-related information from clinical trials.
• Perform specialized animal studies (immunocompromised mice) for human leukemia xenotransplantation, preclinical drug or cell therapy treatment, disease monitoring, treatment efficacy analyses, and pharmacodynamic monitoring. Specific animal skills will be mastered after training and include retro-orbital venous bleeding, tail vein injections, intraperitoneal injections, oral gavage, bioluminescent imaging, animal sacrifice, and organ harvesting and tissue processing.  
• Learn specialized flow cytometry analysis of mouse and human samples and to use flow cytometry data analysis and graphing software.
• Troubleshoot and plan experiments with appropriate Principal Investigator and post-doctoral fellow oversight. Ideally, the candidate will contribute to writing of scientific manuscripts and to figure preparation; co-authorship will be commensurate with level of project involvement and manuscript contributions.
• Performs routine tests / experiments under the direction of principal investigator, supervisor or other designee
• Performs research procedures on experimental samples as directed
• Records and checks experiments/ results for completeness and accuracy
• Performs calculations and maintains appropriate log and lab notebooks
• Performs tasks that require familiarity with fundamental techniques and lab equipment
• May assist with planning specific research protocols and procedures
• Maintains office, lab area, solutions, reagents, supplies and equipment, disposes of specimens, media and other materials (using appropriate procedures)
• Assists in care and maintenance of lab equipment
• May coordinate schedules of tests and procedures
• Attends courses, seminars, and lab meetings to expand