Research Specialist Sr - Infectious Diseases

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:  Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of diverse individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health recognizes that diversity is essential for excellence and innovation. We are committed to an inclusive environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your diversity of culture, thinking, learning, and leading is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization:

Infectious Disease - Admin 30

Job Summary:

Perform research of a highly complex nature. Lead research projects in bacterial pathogenesis and perform near to totally independent research under the facilitation and guidance of the Principle Investigator, Dr. Gaddy. Exercise discretion and independent judgment to develop design of research to test hypotheses. Devise new or modify existing methods and develop procedures to meet new conditions.

Department Summary:

The Department of Medicine’s Division of Infectious Diseases is dedicated to enhancing the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases through discovery and application of new knowledge that is integrated with the mentorship of trainees to become the next generation of national leaders in the field.

The division’s mission is enhanced by our strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, social and intellectual diversity, commitment to lifelong self-learning and professionalism. We emphasize a global perspective, and aim to maintain excellence and compassion in every clinical encounter.

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KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Independently oversee research projects and perform near to totally independent research.

• Supervise, plan, design and implement research projects.

• Establish protocol(s); define data collection, evaluation and analysis procedures, assay optimization.  Our primary experimental endpoints are ELISAs, high resolution microscopy, multi-omics techniques, histopathology, quantitative culturing, and other quantitative chemical assays. 

• Exercise discretion and independent judgment to develop methods and procedures for operation and maintenance of complex scientific equipment.

• Supervise set-up and operation of various scientific experiments involving complex apparatus and equipment.

• Contribute to research so as to merit serving as author or co-author on research publications, etc.

• Assist principal investigator in preparation of grant applications and contract proposals

• Present research findings as needed

• Responsible for plan and coordination of literature and library searches and data collection programs

• Develop reports of results, graphs, charts, tables, etc. of research findings

• Supervise writing, reviewing and editing of various materials for publication

• Provide supervisory responsibility and training to staff, including research assistants, undergraduate students, Master’s students, graduate students, medical students, and post-doctoral fellows

• Provide technical guidance to collaborators and teammates

• Provide budget responsibility

• Make recommendations to principal investigator regarding staff, supply and equipment needs for research projects

• May monitor expenditures of funds

• Maintain open communication between department and others

• Open contact as needed with principal investigator, collaborating professionals, Purchasing, Human Resource Services,

• Space and Facilities Planning, asset management personnel, Environmental Health and Safety, Institutional Review Board staff, administrative staff relating to budget capabilities

• Contact as required with sponsoring agencies and/or cooperating facilities (e.g. V.A.), collaborating professionals and vendors

• Managing procurement of human tissues under IRB protocols

• Assisting the PI with progress reporting for grants, IRB protocols, IBC/Research Safety committees.

• Managing animal husbandry and experiments including mouse models of ABSL-2 infections.

• Assisting the PI with compliance and administration of IACUC protocols.

TECHNICAL CAP