Lai Lab Research Technician

Lai Lab Research Technician

The Lai lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill seeks a full-time Research Technician to support various ongoing projects in the lab spanning antibody engineering, viral vector engineering, immune cell engineering and/or gut microbiome engineering. Disease applications will predominantly encompass different cancers (lymphoma, various solid tumors including ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer and glioblastoma), different infectious disease (BSL-2 only, such as RSV, hMPV, influenza), and different inflammatory conditions (e.g. IBD).

The Research Technician (Animal Studies) will predominantly focus on supporting various animal studies and may be requested to lead specific in vivo studies depending on performance. The work will involve working collaboratively with multiple lab members within the lab and lab collaborators. Please see list of key responsibilities below.

• Experimental Execution & Data Collection
• Study Protocol Adherence:
  Execute complex in vivo studies according to approved Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocols, ensuring all procedures are performed exactly as specified.
• Dosing & Administration:
  Perform precise administration of experimental compounds or vehicles using various routes (e.g., PO, IV, IP, SC, IM, IN) while monitoring for localized adverse reactions.
• Physiological Monitoring:
  Conduct longitudinal assessments, including serial blood collection, body weight tracking, clinical scoring, and behavioral observations.
• Sample Processing:
  Execute necropsy and tissue collection procedures with technical proficiency, ensuring proper labeling, preservation (e.g., snap-freezing in liquid nitrogen, formalin fixation), and documentation for downstream analysis.

• Animal Welfare & Regulatory Compliance
• Clinical Assessment:
  Perform daily health checks to monitor for signs of distress, morbidity, or pain, ensuring immediate reporting and intervention according to the study's humane endpoints.
• Husbandry Standards:
  Maintain rigorous environmental controls (e.g., temperature, humidity, lighting, and cage sanitation) in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
• Maintain mouse colonies as needed.
• Order animals.
• Record Keeping:
  Maintain meticulous, real-time records of all animal activities, including census logs, breeding records, treatment administration, and adverse event reports to ensure audit readiness.

• Technical & Laboratory Operations
• Instrumentation:
  As needed, utilize instruments available at core facilities (e.g. IVIS) to perform live animal imaging. In addition, help prepare samples for in vitro assessments such as flow cytometry.
• Inventory Oversight:
  Manage stocks of specialized supplies, including anesthetics, surgical consumables, and study-specific reagents, ensuring quality control and appropriate expiration tracking.
• Sterile Technique:
  Maintain high standards of aseptic technique for all surgical procedures and when handling sensitive animal models to prevent cross-contamination or infection.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements
- Demonstrated possession of the competencies necessary to perform the work.

Management Preferences
- Demonstrated hands-on experience conducting rodent in vivo studies, including animal handling and restraint, establishment of orthotopic tumor models, dosing administration via multiple routes, blood collection, tissue harvesting, or clinical monitoring. Experience establishing and managing animal models, particularly mouse and hamster models, for various cancers or respiratory viral infections. Skilled in performing complex animal procedures, including necropsy and specimen collection, pharmacokinetic sample collection, and clinical scoring, while maintaining compliance with institutional, regulatory, or animal care protocols.

Effective oral and written communication skills. Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced research environment.