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Unit: Schoolof Medicine

Department: Neurosurgery

Duties & Responsibilities:

Dr. Paul Koch’s lab in the Department of Neurosurgery is seeking a laboratory technician to assist him and graduate/postdoc students with studies in rodents in the fields of traumatic brain injury and epilepsy. These studies complement Dr. Koch’s clinical work and research efforts in human epilepsy. Duties will include brain sectioning, immunohistochemistry, caring for rodents, assisting with cranial surgeries and conducting and analyzing rodent behavior. Some laboratory management tasks will also be required, such as documentation and supply ordering. There is also the opportunity for learning electrophysiological techniques and neural data analysis. Opportunities are available for scientific publication and presentation for the motivated individual.

In addition, there may be opportunity to assist with human clinical, or translational studies as appropriate. Duties could include administering tasks to research subjects undergoing EEG recordings, operation of research neural data acquisition equipment and behavioral and neural data analysis. Appropriate certifications, training and oversight would be provided by Dr Koch and his laboratory.

Core Responsibilities:
• (35%) Animal Care
o Maintain rodent colony in conjunction with the animal care facility and approved protocols, including pre- and post-operative monitoring and appropriate documentation and communication;
o Learn to assist in rodent surgeries and procedures;

• (35%) Data Collection and Analysis
o Perform brain dissection and sectioning, histology, immunohistochemistry, and light microscopy; training available;
o Learn and perform rodent behavioral testing;
o organize and maintain thorough experimental logs;

• (10%) Laboratory Management
o In conjunction with the Principal Investigator and graduate students, maintain necessary laboratory safety, animal and hazardous material certifications and documentation as needed and required by the research and animal care facilities;
o order and maintain necessary supplies and equipment;
o keep current inventory of laboratory equipment and supplies, updated at least quarterly, or as required by research facility;

• (20%) Communication
o Report directly to the Principal Investigator, Dr. Koch;
o Although most communication will be in the form of ad hoc/informal meetings/discussions, technician will be expected to provide oral reports on the status of individual projects, animal care, or other laboratory issues at formal lab meetings and to briefly summarize items discussed and tasks to be completed at these meetings in a written report;
o Collaborate with and assist in the work of students and post-docs in the lab;
o help in training new lab members;
o communicate with collaborating investigators/labs both at VCU and the VA;
o may also have opportunity to contribute to the summary and interpretation of experimental findings in the form of written, or oral abstracts at local, or national scientific meetings, or manuscripts for publication;

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalentHigh school diploma or equivalent
• Work experience in a research laboratory (outside of college coursework).
• Experience and strong interest in the experimental neurosciences.
• Willingness and ability to learn and apply new techniques in animal surgery, rodent behavior, histology, electrophysiology, etc.
• Ability to conduct multiple experiments simultaneously.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Ability to function semi-autonomously with supervision.
• Knowledge of scientific and technical principles, practices, and regulatory requirements.
• Ability to communicate effectively and interact with co-workers in the laboratory, department and university.
• Willingness and ability to travel between VA Medical Center and VCU as needed.
• Must successfully complete appropriate training and certification in research animal use and care (rodents) from VCU as well as the VA Medical Center upon hire.
• Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from all backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent work experience, in a life science program (biology, neuroscience, biochemistry, etc.) or a technical program such as biomedical engineering, computer science, etc.
• Experience with laboratory rodent handling
• Experience with rodent surgery
• Experience with tissue sectioning and immunohistochemistry

Salary Range: $36,000 - $45,000/annually

Benefits: All full-time university staff are eligible for VCU’s robust benefits package that includes comprehensive health benefits, paid annual and holiday leave, generous tuition benefits, retirement planning and savings options, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs, employee discounts, well-being resources, abundant opportunities for career development and advancement, and more.

This position is open until filled.

This is a restricted position with a set end date of 06/30/2027; continued employment is dependent upon project need, availability of funding, and performance.

Please note that if you are employed as a university employee working in any of the health system's facilities, you will need to follow VCU Health System policies, which will include but will not be limited to, vaccination requirements.

FLSA Exemption Status: Non-Exempt

Hours per Week: 40

Restricted Position: Yes

ORP Eligible: No

University Job Title: Labs/Research Technician 1-3 (34051N - 34053N)

Contact Information:   
Contact Name:   Denise Mitchell
Contact Email:   denise.mitchell1@vcuhealth.org