Supv, Laboratory & Research

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston is one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. It was named the nation's No. 1 hospital for cancer care in U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 rankings. It is one of the nation's original three comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute.

KEY FUNCTIONS

Supervision of Department & Laboratory Personnel, Administrative Duties, Staff Training and Education
• Consults and participates in new protocol introduction, including documentation, procedures and processes for all LCRS staff.
• Coaches and counsels and writes performance evaluations for all LCRS employees.
• Manages staffing, workflow and scheduling.
• Supervises daily work activities in the lab including, specimen handling and shipment, QC and instrument maintenance review and troubleshooting when needed, as well as for the LCRS staff within the department.
• Will train new employees and ensure staff adheres to all GLP and SOP/Policy training.
• Uses laboratory knowledge and expertise to identify and resolve laboratory operational issues and interacts with all levels of internal and external sources to resolve problems.
• Will be the lab contact for clinicians or outside labs for specimen inquires or issues as well as scheduling work for outside clients.
• Assists with developing a competency checklist and performs competency observations of staff.
• Provides input for probationary and annual evaluation of staff.
• Participate in interviews for all open LCRS positions.
• Maintain instrument preventive maintenance (PM) and/or service contracts.
• Receives and responds to queries from laboratories, monitors and MDACC research teams.
• Consults and interacts with the multidisciplinary team involved in sample collection, processing, storage and/or shipping, documentation of all, as well as, procedure development, evaluations, quality assurance, process improvement, and continuing education for the accurate and timely performance of pharmacokinetic sampling in the conduct of clinical trials.
• Attends Site Initiation meetings as needed.
• Handles resource planning and department budget processes.
• Ensures all personnel are trained.
• Develops/coordinates training, education, competency processes for new employees.
• Ensures competency assessments are completed according to guidelines.
• Monitors progress of all LCRS employees.
• Obtain information for continuing education opportunities for the staff.

Laboratory Compliance, Quality Assurance and Productivity
• Ensures compliance with all regulatory and safety standards and enforces policies and procedures.
• Ensures laboratory meets quality and productivity standards .
• Ensures adequate quality control methods are implemented according to standard and addresses quality control issues.
• Consults with physician investigators, medical personnel and pharmaceutical drug development staff as a subject matter expert.
• Ensures supplies and equipment are ordered and maintained to meet laboratory needs . Assists with database testing and recommends modification to the database .
• Ensures productivity is sufficient to meet time constraints established for current procedures and processes.
• Continually explores process improvement and efficient operation opportunities . Coordinate new process/service/protocol development and oversees the development and maintenance of new policies and procedure documents.
• Ensures documentation is correct and complete .
• Ensures equipment, training and processes are current and GLP compliant.

Performance of Technical Procedures and Processing, Equipment Calibration and Maintenance
• Perform lab assays, processes and procedures according to protocols and SOPs, as required.
• Processes collected specimens as needed and instructs CITs in techniques for simple and complex processing
• Inspects collected and processed samples for labeling accuracy and visual sample quality.
• Perform PDs, PBMCs, PGs, cell enumeration and other complex lab processing in lieu of the CIT staff for enhanced process control and quality.
• Provides support for processing and shipping of samples.
• Schedule semiannual and annual maintenance of lab equipment
• Schedule calibration for equipment as needed
• Maintain sample organization in the freezer, assigning freezer space to protocols and technicians as needed.
• Monitor daily temperature logs for lab freezer and refrigerator. Respond appropriately to alarms and system notifications.
• Monitor lab supply inventory required for daily blood collection (i.e. saline supply, vacutainers, etc).

EDUCATION
Required: Bachelor's degree in Medical Technology, one of the basic sciences or related field.

EXPERIENCE
Required: Ten years of experience in scientific or experimental research to include three years of lead or supervisory experience. With Master's degree, six years of experience is required to include three years of lead or supervisory experience. Successful completion of the LEADing Self Accelerate program may substitute for one year of required supervisory or management experience.

It is the policy of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to provide equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other basis protected by institutional policy or by federal, state or local laws unless such distinction is required by law. http://www.mdanderson.org/about-us/legal-and-policy/legal-statements/eeo-affirmative-action.html