Research Investigator

Title

Research Investigator (Green Lab)

MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is to eliminate cancer in Texas, the nation, and the world through outstanding programs that integrate patient care, research and prevention, and through education for undergraduate and graduate students, trainees, professionals, employees and the public.

SUMMARY

The Research Investigator applies technical expertise and experience to coordinate, design and carry out research projects.

CORE VALUES

Caring Behaviors

• Courtesy: Is respectful and courteous to each other at all times.
• Friendliness/Teamwork: Promotes and rewards teamwork and inclusiveness; is sensitive to the concerns of our patients and our co-workers.

Integrity Behaviors

• Reliability: Communicates frequently, honestly and openly.
• Accountability: Holds self and others accountable for practicing our values.
• Safety: Models safe behavior (wears badge and personal protective equipment, washes hands, and keeps work area clean and orderly); Notices a safety concern or emergency, understands role and uses proper procedures to report it; Mitigates risk to the institution through sound business practices; Demonstrates ethical and personal responsibility in work and behavior

Discovery Behaviors

• Responsiveness: By his/her actions, creates an environment of trust; Encourages learning, creativity and new ideas.
• Personal Leadership/Self-Initiative: Helps others to identify and solve problems; Seeks personal growth and enables others to do so.

JOB SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES
Research and Design Activities. Assists principal investigator with scientific research projects using mouse models. Functions in an independent manner in the design and initiation of research experiments. Designs, develops or adapts protocols used in animal experiments or research to obtain desired results. Determines specific goals or objectives to be obtained, evaluates research data and develops and revises techniques or approaches to work problems. Represents department or research committees as needed. Plans, organizes, coordinates and participates in scientific research projects. Participates in research activities developing new and innovative techniques working with large numbers of materials and data, developing and implementing support systems to document research results. Applies technical expertise and experience to plan, coordinate, design, supervise, and carry out research projects. Coordinates all activities relating to the creation and amendment of IACUC protocols, management of mouse colonies, biological sampling and genotyping of mice, and analysis of experimental read-outs for immune function. Oversees Sample processing, data collection, and data analysis. Oversees data collection, data processing and data analyses for observational data from large population based datasets. Performs independent data analysis.

Lab Operations. Designs, develops or adapts equipment used in experiments or research to obtain desired results. Uses research knowledge and expertise to identify and resolve laboratory operational issues, data collection and management issues and interacts with all levels of internal and external sources to resolve problems. Ensures laboratory adherence to safety standards. Supervise, coordinate, implement, and evaluate the various activities, functions, and procedures involving the daily activity within the research group while exercises considerable imagination, initiative and inventiveness in planning and executing the details of experiments and in evaluating and interpreting the results. Prepare samples to be submitted to other Core labs for further analysis. Maintain records of animal colonies and breeding strategies. Responsible for major participation in the development and revision of techniques, assembles and operates laboratory apparatus and equipment. Collaborates or assists with supervisor, senior research staff and trainees with preparation of reports and grant requests. Perform various animal experiments and laboratory techniques, including animal breeding and surgery, tissue processing, immunohistochemical staining, PCR, and flow cytometry.

Training and Publications. Responsible for training junior staff to work in selected technical areas, as well as training in all areas of safety. Compiles, writes and evaluates data for publication purposes and submits project results to PI in appropriate digital format. It is necessary for the Research Investigator to perform peer reviews of published scientific articles to validate theories and corroborate research. Actively prepares and submits for presentation and peer-reviewed publication abstracts and manuscripts related to research outcomes. The investigator will be expected to be able to present the results of their work in laboratory research meetings. Subject to the ability and inclination of the individual, as well as the judgment of the principal investigator, opportunities to present findings at national meetings may arise as well. This individual will share in authorship of all publications which arise from this work in a manner to be determined by the principal investigator, and in proportion to their role in the research findings.

Other duties as assigned

COMPETENCIES

Analytical Thinking - Gather relevant information systematically; break down problems into simple components; make sound decisions.

Coach and Develop - Assess strengths and development needs of employees; provide challenging development opportunities; provide relevant, timely feedback; mentor others.

Innovative Thinking - Approach problems with curiosity and open-mindedness; offer new ideas, solutions and/or options.

Inspire Trust - Show consistency among principles, values, and behavior; gain the confidence and trust of others.

Listen to Others - Listen to feedback and input carefully; demonstrate attention to others; acknowledge and listen to differing perspectives in a group.

Provide Direction - Provide clear direction and priorities toward a common vision; clarify roles and responsibilities for employees; promote empowerment.

Equipment Usage and Safety Preparedness - Employee maintains expectations for safety preparedness, including but not limited to: Orientation to new equipment, Employee Education Event, CPR training, fire drills.

Professionalism - Employee demonstrates commitment to collaborative professional relationships with physicians and all members of the heath care team.

Team with Others - Initiate, develop, and manage relationships and networks; encourage collaboration and input from all team members; value the contributions of all team members; balance individual and team goals.

Written Communication - Convey information clearly and concisely through both formal and informal documents; adapt writing style to fit the audience.

Service Orientation
Provide service to our stakeholders, including patients, caregivers, colleagues and each other, in a safe, courteous, accountable, efficient and innovative manner to include:

• Promoting inclusiveness and collegiality that demonstrates respect and professionalism to our stakeholders at all times
• Modeling safe, ethical behavior that mitigates risk to the institution through sound business practices, and adherence to MD Anderson's Standards of Conduct, institutional policies and procedures
• Responding to requests in a timely manner while proactively communicating expectations for procedures, service arrival, or project deliverables to stakeholders
• Using the steps to HEAL (Hear, Empathize, Address and Learn) the relationship when service recovery is needed

Customer Focus
Builds and maintains customer satisfaction with the products and services offered by the organization through skills demonstrated in communication, personalization of interaction, regulation of emotions, and proactive problem solving.

Performance Statement Examples

• Presents a cheerful, positive manner with customers either on the phone or in person. Shows interest in, actively listens to and responds in a clear and timely manner to customer's expressed needs.
• Focuses on the customer's results, rather than own. Goes beyond basic service expectations to help customers implement complete solutions through personalized service that anticipates the customer's unspoken needs.
• Delivers services when and where the customer needs them. Explores options when unable to deliver a requested product or service, and pursues solutions until the customer is satisfied by addressing the root cause of the issue. Problem solves with patient, family member, care giver or clinical team to aid in proactively resolving issues and concerns.
• Provides to customers status reports and progress updates. Seeks customer feedback and ensures needs have been fully met.
• Talks to customers (internal and external) with a pleasant tone to find out what they need and how satisfied they are with the service. Remains in control of own reactions and responds in a manner that demonstrates appropriate nonverbal cues and complements the customer's emotions in the situation. Recognizes when its is necessary to escalate situations to leadership to ensure customer satisfaction.

Bachelor's degree in one of the natural sciences or related field. Five years of experience in scientific or experimental research work. With preferred degree, three years of required 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