Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of diverse individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health recognizes that diversity is essential for excellence and innovation. We are committed to an inclusive environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your diversity of culture, thinking, learning, and leading is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization:

Dermatology

Job Summary:

JOB SUMMARY

The Ward Lab utilizes a multidisciplinary approach, including genomic, metabolomic, proteomic, and micro/mycobiomic studies on human psoriasis, combined with novel preclinical mouse models, to study the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Going between patients and mouse models, we aim to identify critical cellular pathways, interfere with these using novel genetic technologies, and determine the significance of the pathways for disease initiation and progression. We then work to translate these findings back to the clinical setting by designing and evaluating novel prevention and intervention strategies. The ideal candidate will be able and willing to work within an integrated, multidisciplinary team comprised of basic scientists, computational biologists, and physician-scientists, with significant resources for bioinformatics support, preclinical mouse models and studies in human tissues.

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POSITION OBJECTIVE

Working under limited supervision, the person will coordinate all activities and projects within the lab. He/she will prepare and monitor budgets, perform high level experiments, evaluate and make recommendations for modifications, train and supervise staff/fellows/residents/students and coordinate and oversee all activities within the lab, including the animal colony.

This person must have expertise in understanding animal colony management as they will supervise junior research assistants who are responsible for daily husbandry/weaning/genotyping. They will help with planning and decision making as needed. This individual will be responsible for training new animal husbandry staff.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

-Work closely with the principal investigator: This individual is expected to be the eyes and ears of the PI in the laboratory.

-Will be responsible for animal colony oversight. Must have an in-depth understanding of the transgenic and gene deficient mouse models used in the lab, how they are generated, how to perform animal husbandry, how to genotype them, and how to identify which mice to be kept for experiments. Will be responsible for training and supervising the animal husbandry research assistant and will be required to help make decisions about mice when necessary.

-Independently oversee research projects and perform near to totally independent research. Devise new protocols and techniques for research projects involving a high degree of skill and training and evaluate adequacy of techniques; study and test new procedures and analyzes data. Ensure quality control of all experimental methods and outcomes.

-Carry out complex research assignments of a non-routine nature. Must have experimental expertise at the highest level in areas such as PCR, RT-qPCR, ELISA, DNA, RNA and Protein isolation. Must be able to produce critical amounts of data, paying close attention to quality control and generate new SOP’s for the lab to work to ensure the quality of data is at the level it needs to be. Will collect data, analyze it, and put it into formats that are publication quality.

-Must be exceedingly aware of timelines, deadlines, data integrity, data reproducibility, and have the expertise and experience to plan, execute and comprehend complex experiments, limitations of them, and correct issues with experiments in the present and in the past.

-Managerial work. Contribute to the day-to-day function of the lab including maintenance of equipment and compliance documentation. May monitor the laboratory budget. Oversee inventory and order supplies. May supervise students. Will supervise technicians and research assistants. Maintain complete and detailed records and results of experiments, protocols, and animal husbandry and genotyping, using a tracking system already established in the lab.

-Will be the initial contact person for everything in the lab, perform all ordering, serve as the primary contact for all vendors, manage lab repairs, equipment repairs and service contracts, regular expendables (liquid nitrogen, dry ice), disposal of chemical waste, and will work closely with university staff.

-Will be responsible for writing the initial draft of IACUC proposals and must be able to handle and work through compliance issues. Will train and supervise students/fellows/residents, technicians & all other employees in the lab.

-Perform other duties as assigned.

Our Academic Enterprise is one of the nation’s longest serving and most prestigious academic medical centers. Through its historic bond with Vanderbilt University and integral role in the School of Medicine, Vanderbilt Health cultivates distinguished research and educational programs to advance a clinical enterprise that provides compassionate and personalized care and support for millions of patients and family members each year.

World-leading academic departments and comprehensive centers of excellence pursue scientific discoveries and transformational educational and clinical advances across the entire spectrum of health and disease.

Aligning with Vanderbilt Health’s Strategic Directions , the Office of Research provides shared research resources, administrative expertise and professional guidance to enable the trans-disciplinary environment and highly collaborative culture that advances discovery and training for all the research faculty, trainees, students and staff.

Core Accountabilities:

Organizational Impact: Independently delivers on objectives with understanding of how they impact the results of own area/team and other related teams. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Utilizes multiple sources of data to analyze and resolve complex problems; may take a new perspective on existing solution. Breadth of Knowledge: Has advanced knowledge within a professional area and basic knowledge across related areas. Team Interaction: Acts as a "go-to" resource for colleagues with less experience; may lead small project teams.

Core Capabilities :

Supporting Colleagues: - Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance e and gain knowledge in new areas. - Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships. - Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one's own communication style to suit different situations and audiences. Delivering Excellent Services: - Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them. - Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions. - Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness. Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly. - Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring. Managing Resources Effectively: - Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure. - Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area. - Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities. Fostering Innovation: - Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches. - Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges. - Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications :

Work Experience :

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level :

7 years

Education :

Bachelor's

Vanderbilt Health recognizes that diversity is essential for excellence and innovation. We are committed to an inclusive environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and to the principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action. EOE/AA/Women/Minority/Vets/Disabled