The Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, at the University of Virginia's School of Medicine, seeks applications for a Lab Specialist Senior to work in the laboratory of Didier Portilla, MD. This This position is responsible for conducting research related to the study of Pathogenesis of acute kidney injury, role of PPAR alpha in AKI and the role of pericytes in progressive fibrosis. Role of intracellular complement in kidney fibrosis. https://med.virginia.edu/nephrology/research/didier-portilla-lab

Lab Specialist Senior employees apply highly-developed subject matter expertise to laboratory research. They are distinguished from Lab Specialist Intermediate employees in the complexity of their work and their responsibilities for staff management. They assist in the administration and coordination of the technical activities of a scientific research lab. Lab Specialist Senior employees assist Principal Investigators or Lab Managers by performing the following tasks: designing research methodologies, managing research projects, developing and administering budgets and schedules, following established quality standards and analyzing data and performance metrics. They ensure that standard operating procedures and protocols are maintained and applied. These employees may manage staff. They may co-author publications and co-present results with Principal Investigators.

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Make independent decisions regarding research and daily activities and ensure all research activities comply with research protocols and regulations.
• Research background to forecast what supplies are needed to perform research activities for a specific period.
• Incumbent document requests made from within and outside the University regarding research experiments and prioritize workload to ensure deadlines are met.
• Independently triage, set deadlines, record, monitor and run tests required and follow protocols and guidelines.
• Be responsible for laboratory organization and maintaining equipment.
• Train users in equipment operation and research techniques; explain and demonstrate technology and equipment capabilities, operations, limitations and outcomes.
• Confer with PIs in developing plans for research projects and discuss the interpretation of results and the preparation of scientific manuscripts for publication.
• Participate in formulating research methods, suggest options for improving quality and recommend solutions.
• In addition to the above job responsibilities, other duties may be assigned.

Qualified candidates must have:

• Education: Bachelor's degree, preference of Bachelor's degree in biomedical/biological sciences or similar.
• Experience: Nine years of experience in a lab technician role. May substitute with Master's or Terminal degree plus four years of experience in a lab technician role and supervisory experience. 12 years of experience accepted in lieu of degree.

Required knowledge, skills, abilities:

• Knowledge of basic laboratory procedures and practices.
• Ability perform high complexity assays, accurately prepare solutions and reagents.
• Ability to follow set policies and procedures.
• Ability to work accurately and independently with attention to detail.
• Ability to write reports in a professional and organized manner.
• Ability to plan and execute tasks or experiments in a timely manner.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to communicate/interact with investigators and other core staff on a daily basis.
• Knowledge of University, State and Federal policies and regulations
• Knowledge and ability to execute routine laboratory procedures (including sterile technique, pipetting, use a fume hood, etc.).
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Outlook).
• Must possess excellent interpersonal and organizational skills and demonstrate the ability to articulate information to investigators and other research team members.

Physical Demands:

This position can spend extensive periods of time standing and squatting while conducting experiments or caring for animals. Also requires keyboarding and other bench work and animal procedures requiring finer finger manipulation.

This Lab Specialist Senior, will report directly to the Principle Investigator of the lab. For additional information about the position, please contact Didier Portilla at DP2BS@virginia.edu

This position is located in Charlottesville, VA. The anticipated start date is June 1st 2022. This position is a restricted position and is dependent upon project need, availability of funding and performance. Anticipated Hiring Range: $40,560 - $81,099, commensurate with education and experience. This is an exempt level, benefited position. For more information on the benefits at UVA, visit https://hr.virginia.edu/benefits

This position will remain open until filled. Review of applicants will begin on May 2, 2022. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment. A completed pre-employment health screen is required for this position prior to employment.

References will be completed via UVA's standardized process Skill Survey. A total of five references will be requested via SkillSurvey during the final phase of the interview process.

For more information about UVA and the Charlottesville community please see http://www.virginia.edu/life/charlottesville and https://embarkcva.com/.

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