Senior Research Associate, Laboratory

Senior Research Associate, Laboratory

The George Washington University, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH) is looking for a Senior Research Associate to join our molecular epidemiology and microbiome research group co-directed by Professor Lance Price and Associate Professor Cindy Liu. The successful candidate will have a unique opportunity to work with a multidisciplinary team on multiple important and exciting projects that seeks to better understand the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, as well as developing solutions for preventing bacterial infections through translational human microbiome research.

Dr. Liu’s main interest is to develop innovative solutions to prevent, diagnose, and treat bacterial and HIV infections by better understanding the ecology and biology of the human microbiome. Dr. Price’s main interest is to quantify the contribution of antibiotic use in food animal production to antibiotic-resistant infections in humans. Both investigators are also active in developing evidence-based policy and practice in human and food animal antibiotic stewardship.

The current molecular epidemiology and microbiome research group includes staff and graduate/undergraduate students with a variety of skills, including standard and molecular microbiology, epidemiology, clinical medicine, microbial ecology, and bioinformatics. The group’s current portfolio of funded projects ranges from a multi-year study that examines the impact of policy change on antibiotic resistance that will sequence 10,000 clinical and foodborne bacterial genomes to multiple international microbiome cohort and longitudinal studies.

This position is grant-funded and will support research activities in the laboratory through the managing day-to-day lab functions, providing technical assistance to research team members, and contributing to the development of new research techniques. The individual will be responsible for conducting research for specific projects and will also have the opportunity to make substantial contribution to analysis and interpretation of data, scientific presentations, and preparation of reports, manuscripts, and grants.

Responsibilities include:

• Collaborate with and provide technical guidance to other research team members.
• Perform laboratory research including culture-based and molecular microbiological research on the bench-top and using liquid-handling robots.
• Work closely with PIs to develop and implement new research techniques.
• Manage and participate in general laboratory activities, such as inventory, equipment maintenance, and laboratory clean-up 
• Contribute to data analysis and interpretation of data and preparation of grant applications, manuscripts, and presentations. 
• Contribute to laboratory administration, such as IRB application, data management plan, and data use agreement.
• Participate in internal meetings and multi-site collaborator meetings.
• Performs other related duties as assigned. The omission of specific duties does not preclude the supervisor from assigning duties that are logically related to the position.

The initial appointment is for one year, with opportunity for an extension after successful completion of the first year. The anticipated start date is July 2019.

Qualifications:

Qualified candidates will hold a master’s degree and 3 years of direct experience in a related discipline. Degree must be conferred by the start date of the position

Desired Qualifications:

• 3 year laboratory experience in microbiological research that include include culture-based (enrichment and selective methods, susceptibility testing, etc) and molecular-based (amplicon/whole genome/metagenomic sequencing) analyses.
• Proficiency in data analysis using packages such as SAS, R, or STATA.
• Prior experience in preparation of abstracts, manuscripts, and presentations.
• Strong written, verbal communication and organizational skills 
• Self-motivated and able to multi-task, set priorities, work independently, and manage multiple deadlines.
• Experience in project management is preferred.
• Demonstrated skills in scripting languages such as C, Perl, and/or Python.
• The successful candidate will have extensive experience with microbiological research, will be highly-organized, self-motivated, able to work independently and with a team, and must be able to manage his/her time across multiple laboratory activities. 

Education

•  Masters or PhD degree in a science (i.e. biology, microbiology, chemistry or other laboratory sciences) or a health-related field (e.g. public health).