PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Frederick National Laboratory is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and operated by Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. The lab addresses some of the most urgent and intractable problems in the biomedical sciences in cancer and AIDS, drug development and first-in-human clinical trials, applications of nanotechnology in medicine, and rapid response to emerging threats of infectious diseases.
The Vaccine, Immunity, and Cancer Directorate (VICD) at the Frederick National Laboratory has a primary mission to provide scientific leadership and laboratory infrastructure to study immune responses to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines and other cancer preventive strategies in the context of clinical and pre-clinical studies. More recently, VICD is also leading initiatives on SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccines.
KEY ROLES/RESPONSIBILITIES
- Be responsible for sample management
- Optimize and validate procedures and methodologies for assessment of immune responses to infections and vaccines
- Plan experiments and conduct testing of large number of samples from clinical studies, with limited supervision, design and implement protocols, as well as troubleshoot assays and experiments independently
- Evaluate, analyze and compile data, maintain databases
- Be responsible for routine QC/QA procedures, ordering supplies, and maintaining equipment and inventories
- Prepare reports, present data and participate in report and proposal preparation
- Remain current on literature and relevant laboratory techniques
- Other duties as assigned
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
To be considered for this position, you must minimally meet the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed below:
- Possession of Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university according to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or four (4) years relevant experience in lieu of degree. Foreign degrees must be evaluated for U.S. equivalency.
- Research Associate I - In addition to the education requirement, a minimum of two (2) years of progressively responsible experience
- Research Associate II - In addition to the education requirement, a minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience
- Detailed knowledge of vaccines, immunology, and virology
- Expertise in tissue culture and immunological/virological techniques, including aseptic techniques, cell line maintenance, production of plasmids and virus-like particles, western-blot, ELISA, Luminex assays, flow cytometry, virus neutralization assays and PCR
- Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Candidates with these desired skills will be given preferential consideration:
- Master’s degree in relevant studies
- Experience in standard tissue culture and immunological/virological techniques, including: aseptic techniques, cell line maintenance, production of plasmids and virus-like particles, western-blot, ELISA, Luminex assays, virus neutralization assays and PCR
- Experience in immune assay (ELISA, multiplex assays) development and validation
- Experience handling large data sets, statistics, software tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
- Experience in laboratories operating under GCLP/GMP/GLP/CLIA
- Experience using robotics
- Experience with electronic documentation systems and LIMS
JOB HAZARDS
- Work may involve the use of potentially hazardous chemical or biological materials or may be located in areas where such materials are used
- This position is subject to working with or have potential for exposure to infectious material, requiring medical clearance and immunizations
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