Senior Research Technician

Department
BSD MED - Gastroenterology - Cheng Research Staff

About the Department
The Section of Gastroenterology, Hepatology at The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the best specialty nationally by U.S News and World Report. With nearly 30 specialists on staff, our program plays a leading role in the understanding of digestive diseases and in developing innovative and successful treatments for patients. Since forming the nation's first full-time department of gastroenterology in 1927, our physicians have continually improved treatments for digestive tract and related disorders by combining medical research, education, and patient care at the highest level.

Job Summary
The Section of Gastroenterology is looking for a Senior Research Technician with a strong background in microbiology to join our interdisciplinary team to help design and perform research experiments. The Cheng lab is seeking a highly motivated laboratory technician to characterize human gut microbiome metabolism, isolate human gut microbial strains from gut communities, build synthetic gut microbial communities for experimentation, and drive experimentation on patient and synthetic gut communities. These activities will facilitate our joint laboratory goals of understanding how our gut microbiomes modulate disease. As our Senior Research Technician, you will be responsible for batch and bioreactor culturing patient gut microbial communities, isolating bacterial strains from patient gut microbial communities, and building experimental and therapeutic complex microbial communities.


This position offers training in anaerobic microbiology, metagenomic sequencing, and the opportunity to participate in extensive academic collaborations with national and international labs. You will be joining an inclusive and supportive group whose mission is to advance both the science and team!

Responsibilities

• Design and execute batch fermentation and bioreactor fermentation experiments.
• Design and implement culture and enrichment (culturomics) strategies to isolate human strains from fecal and small intestinal microbial community samples.
• Design, implement, and optimize bacterial community production processes including maintaining pure cryo-stocks of human-derived anaerobic microbes and pathogens, reviving and scaling up microbial cultures from cryo-stocks.
• Collaborate with staff scientists, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students to design and assemble custom synthetic microbial communities for experimentation.
• Support scientific and research programs related to basic science and translational research about the human gut microbiome; analyze data, monitor and oversee experimental processes, and design and develop assays, specialized equipment, and/or systems.
• Supervise maintenance of cryo-stock database and quality control of cryo-stocks and communities.
• Perform and supervise quality assessment of stocks and communities through single colony isolation, 16S, and next generation sequencing techniques.
• Maintain documentation related to research studies and protocols.
• Modify, repair, and troubleshoot anaerobic microbiology culture equipment and experimental systems.
• Oversee the work of technicians and staff associated with the group/projects and provide guidance to technicians, operators, and others as needed.
• Liaise between researchers, students, technical staff, scientists, vendors, and other university staff; serve as a resource, providing training and practical guidance.
• Communicate progress or problems to PIs or managers routinely.
• Attend and contribute to discussions during lab meetings.
• Make contributions to lab management by ordering equipment and supplies, generating reagents, and ensuring lab compliance with safety and animal welfare regulations.
• Takes responsibility for the following laboratory duties: recognizing abnormal results and varying conditions or procedures to correct problems; setting up and performing experiments. Analyze the meaning, significance, causes, and effects of the subject.
• Applies research principles and relevant subject matter knowledge relevant to administer a research project. With a moderate level of direction, manages lab and/or research-related duties and tasks. Helps develop, design and conduct research projects according to plan.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:
Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:
Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Master's degree in Microbiology strongly preferred.

Experience:

• Experience overseeing a laboratory space or unit and supervising the work of technicians and other staff associated with the group.
• Experience with bioreactor setups and batch culture.
• Experience with aseptic and microbiological techniques.
• Industry experience is a plus.

Preferred Competencies

• Demonstrate knowledge and skills of advanced anaerobic techniques or microbiological principles and practices.
• Ability to adhere to protocol and thoroughly perform quality control measures.
• Practices rigorous scientific documentation and inventory management.
• Exceptional work ethic and self-starter attitude with demonstrated ability to take initiative and ownership of assigned projects.
• Effectively collaborate with senior engineering and scientific staff to design, develop, and implement custom protocols for strain growth and community construction.
• Ability to evaluate research/process capabilities and make recommendations.
• Ability to establish, communicate, and enforce compliance with health and safety policies and procedures.
• Ability to effectively supervise and train a diverse work staff.
• Ability to prioritize own work and multi-task.
• Ability to routinely and independently exercise sound judgment in making decisions.
• Ability to working independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to work with project management tools.
• Ability to take initiative and ownership of research processes.
• Oral and written communication skills.

Application Documents

• Resume (required)
• Cover Letter (required)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family
Research

Role Impact
Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours
40

Drug Test Required
No

Health Screen Required
No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
No

Pay Rate Type
Salary

FLSA Status
Exempt

Pay Range
$60,000.00 - $80,000.00
The included pay rate or range represents the University's good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible
Yes
The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call View phone number on click.appcast.io or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

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