Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Roychoudhury Lab
Position Overview
Organization: Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
Title: Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Roychoudhury Lab
Position Details
Position Description
As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.
UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.
The University of Washington, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology is a broad and dynamic department that strives for a consistent level of high achievement in all of its activities. The Department offers full diagnostic services in all areas of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, is a top ranked research organization as measured by research awards from the National Institutes of Health and offers an array of specialized educational training programs.
The UW Medicine Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology brings together state-of-the-art technology and highly trained, world renowned personnel to provide comprehensive diagnostic and personalized service to physicians, community hospitals, independent laboratories, and other health care organizations. Our operations are based at the University of Washington Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, South Lake Union, Northwest Hospital and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Faculty members also serve at Seattle Children's Hospital, the Veteran’s Administration Puget Sound Healthcare System, and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. These collaborative efforts have generated innovative, translational studies in the basic mechanisms of disease as they apply to diagnostic laboratory medicine and pathology.
The Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology has an outstanding opportunity for a 1.0 FTE Postdoctoral Scholar. The postdoc candidate will work with Dr. Pavitra Roychoudhury to study the HIV reservoir using sequencing-based methods.
- Term of appointment: This full-time, 12-month position has immediate availability for an initial one-year appointment. The position will be renewable annually contingent on performance and available funding.
- The base salary range for this position will be $5,705 per month ($68,460 annually).
General Duties:
· Design, test, and optimize assays for HIV reservoir characterization which could include bulk and single-cell sequencing methods
· Create and optimize next-generation sequencing libraries for pathogen genomics
· Develop bioinformatic analysis pipelines, perform phylogenetic analyses, data visualization and statistical analyses, writing scripts in R/python and common bioinformatic tools and programs
· Analyze quantitative data from other methods including RT-qPCR, qPCR, and ddPCR
· Monitor performance of molecular procedures including but not limited to real-time PCR, Sanger sequencing, PCR product detection DNA sequencing and next generation sequencing;
· Develop and maintain documentation for assays and code including guidelines, SOPs, and validation reports adopting version control methods
· Draft manuscripts for open-access publication and
· Contribute data and analyses for grant submissions
· Perform preliminary experiments for assay development
· Perform work accurately, precisely and meet deadlines
· Identify long and short-term goals; initiate research program/projects
· Contribute technical knowledge when initiating new projects to determining feasibility of goals and objectives of the study
· Collaborate with research team to enhance technical assay methodology or content for new and existing projects
· Review scientific literature related to current area of research
· Present results at meetings and conferences as required
· Perform other duties as required
Conditions of Employment:
- Will be considered essential staff and as such will be required to report to work when scheduled despite inclement weather.
- Must be able to meet with all shifts on a regular basis.
- May work weekends and holidays.
- May be asked to work hours beyond normal open hours of the laboratory depending on staffing needs and current testing requirements.
Employees working in Laboratory Medicine
- Sit at a desk or bench 30” to 37” high.
- Use a computer keyboard and mouse.
- Communicate by telephone and email.
- Work with bio hazardous specimens, including tissues and fluids, which may be infected with infectious particles, viruses and microorganisms. May be exposed to bloodborne pathogens through needle stick or biohazard spill.
- Work with and transport hazardous materials, such as solvents, acids and bases.
- Lift containers (weighing 40 pounds or less) of supplies, reports, and specimens.
- Wear protective equipment, such as gloves, gowns, masks and goggles, when appropriate.
- Operate equipment such as a centrifuge, computer keyboard & printer, fume hood, biosafety cabinet, pipetting device, and syringe with needle.
Safety/Response to Emergencies:
- Maintain awareness of safety procedures; implement safety rules and regulations in compliance with institution standards.
- Train staff in safety, and maintain safety as a priority within the department.
- Have and exercise knowledge of laboratory safety and proper precautions when dealing with bio-hazardous, radioactive, corrosive, explosive and/or flammable materials.
- Recognize potential safety hazards and take corrective action to resolve hazards or notify appropriate personnel.
- Participate in interdepartmental efforts to facilitate a safe environment for all staff and patients.
- Ensure staff knows location of safety information and supplies and are able to access information in response to queries or emergency situations.
- Ensure staff keeps abreast of safety procedures including fire plan, disaster drills, evacuation routes, etc.
- Participate in laboratory disaster preparedness drills.
Policies and Procedures:
- Follows established policies, procedures and techniques at all times.
- Integrates new or revised procedures into the workplace.
- Perform other duties as required.
Postdoctoral scholars are represented by UAW 4121 and are subject to the collective bargaining agreement, unless agreed exclusion criteria apply. For more information, please visit the University of Washington Labor Relations website.
Qualifications
Requirements:
Education requirement, minimum: PhD in the Biology, Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics or equivalent.
Additional Requirements:
- At least four years in related area or equivalent combination of education/experience in genomics and virology/microbiology
- Prior experience in one or more of: NGS methods, bioinformatics, data analysis, 10X/single-cell RNA sequencing
- Familiarity with Unix command line environment, R, bash, git, and common bioinformatics tools
- Problem-solving and troubleshooting skills
- Prior first-author publications
Desired:
- Experience analyzing next-generation sequencing from a variety of methods (shotgun/metagenomic, enrichment-based methods, amplicon sequencing, single-cell methods)
- Experience with PacBio long-read sequencing is desired but not required
Instructions
Applicants should send (via interfolio) their CV, cover letter, and contact information for at least three references addressed to Pavitra Roychoudury, MSc, PhD, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA - proychou@uw.edu
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.
Benefits Information
A summary of benefits associated with this title/rank can be found at https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/benefits-orientation/benefit-summary-pdfs/. Appointees solely employed and paid directly by a non-UW entity are not UW employees and are not eligible for UW or Washington State employee benefits.
Commitment to Diversity
The University of Washington is committed to building diversity among its faculty, librarian, staff, and student communities, and articulates that commitment in the UW Diversity Blueprint (http://www.washington.edu/diversity/diversity-blueprint/). Additionally, the University’s Faculty Code recognizes faculty efforts in research, teaching and/or service that address diversity and equal opportunity as important contributions to a faculty member’s academic profile and responsibilities (https://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/FCG/FCCH24.html#2432).
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Disability Services
To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu.