Senior Research Associate

Description

Date: February 2025

Title: Senior Research Associate (Laboratory Research)

Department: Medicine

School: Medicine

Location: Wolstein Research Building- CWRU Main Campus; Louis Stokes Veterans Administration Hospital

Supervisor Name and Title: Cody Rutledge, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine

 

POSITION OBJECTIVE

The Rutledge Lab explores mitochondrial and metabolic changes in the heart during ischemic heart disease. As a member of the lab, the Senior Research Associate will oversee research projects, providing scientific oversight, guidance to lab members, and lab management in the absence of the principal investigator. The Senior Research Associate will design and plan projects, oversee collaborations, supervise staff and students, manage animal models, and fully execute research projects with the research topics investigating ribosomal and mitochondrial signaling. The individual will work closely with the P.I., as well as with undergraduate and medical students and clinical residents and fellows. The Senior Research Associate will utilize methods spanning cell culture, animal models, and human blood samples and will be expected to perform a breadth of molecular biology assays. The individual will be responsible for managing and designing individual experiments, reporting these in a consistent fashion and in a timely manner, managing experiments to include appropriate positive and negative controls, ensuring reproducibility, appropriate sample sizes, troubleshooting methodologies, and refining techniques into standard operating procedures in the laboratory. Careful documentation and accountability are required. The Senior Research Associate will also present data and findings at lab and scientific meetings, and seminars, prepare manuscripts, and contribute preliminary data for grant proposals. This work will be based primarily in the Wolstein Research Building but will also require experiments to be completed at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS 

1. Independently and with the principal investigator, design, plan, and execute research projects to complete grant aims. Perform and analyze experiments using mouse models, cell culture models, biochemical systems, and other model systems. Use a variety of techniques including fluorescence microscopy, Western blotting, flow cytometry, PCR, ELISA, immunoprecipitation, etc. Maintain accurate records of data and provide findings and recommendations to the PI based on analysis. (45%)

2. Provide scientific oversight of all research projects, including data collection, regulatory compliance, and lab maintenance. Establish and manage the day-to-day priorities of the research staff. (10%)

3. With the principal investigator, establish goals and objectives for the efficient and timely completion of projects. Meet regularly with the principal investigator to review and set priorities, staff/student-related issues, and future research staff and planning. (5%)

4. Monitor laboratory budget and supervise lab ordering, with assistance and regular updates to the PI. Review and approve purchases, and direct purchases toward appropriate funding sources, with input from PI. (5%)

5. Present data and findings at laboratory meetings and scientific meetings, seminars, etc. Prepare manuscripts, and contribute preliminary data for grant proposals. (5%) 

6. Develop new techniques and protocols to advance research projects within the lab. Train lab members on new techniques. (5%) 

7. Mentor and train lab staff, volunteers, and graduate students; oversee research work and ensure pro jects are being completed according to the research plan. This will involve teaching other members of the lab techniques and scientific discovery methods, potentially including students and post-docs. Assist and teach both established and new research techniques to other lab members to facilitate their experiments. Coordinate trainings for lab members with the EHS and others, as needed. (5%) 

8. Assist with authoring of research projects. Assemble data and make publication-quality figures from analyzed data. With the highest level of integrity and responsible conduct of research, participate in writing manuscripts as a first author and co-author for discoveries from research performed in the lab, together with the PI and other lab members. (5%) 

9. Assess, update, and develop new standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the lab. (5%) 

10. Supervise research assistants and technicians. Supervise the resear