Associate Principal Investigator, Virology

BACKGROUND

The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) is a unique facility located at Fort Detrick in Frederick, MD, dedicated to defending the nation against biological threats. Established in response to biodefense gaps identified after the Amerithrax attacks of 2001, NBACC has been operated by the Battelle National Biodefense Institute (BNBI) since 2006.

NBACC supports DHS and national biodefense preparedness planning, response, emerging threat characterization, and bioforensic analyses. It addresses critical scientific knowledge gaps regarding biological agents to protect the public and defend the nation against biological threats- whether naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberate. NBACC also provides federal law enforcement with scientific data to support the investigation and attribution of biocrimes and the protection of the U.S. bioeconomy.

NBACC is comprised of two centers:

• National Bioforensic Analysis Center (NBFAC): Conducts technical analyses to support federal law enforcement investigations.
• National Biological Threat Characterization Center (NBTCC): Conducts experiments and studies to gather data for understanding biological vulnerabilities and hazards.

Together, these centers serve as a national resource for assessing risks posed by biological agents and emerging technologies, informing biodefense policy and response planning, and supporting the investigation, prosecution, and prevention of biocrimes and bioterrorism.

• Leverages subject matter expertise to maintain and expand institutional virology capabilities to execute research efforts that may involve but are not limited to molecular virology, synthetic biology, eukaryotic genome editing, sequencing and bioinformatics, and/or systems level virus‑host interactions.
• Designs, implements, and leads virology related research projects aimed at addressing current biological threat characterization knowledge gaps, to include development of project plans, oversight of project teams, completion of deliverables within time and budget constraints, and compliance with all relevant legal, policy, regulatory and program requirements.
• Performs laboratory research on a wide range of viral agents that may include application of viral reverse genetics systems, analysis of viral and/or host gene or protein expression, assessment of agent persistence in the environment, and assessment of virulence/pathogenesis of viral agents in animal models.
• Prepares technical reports and proposals, presentation materials, safety plans, schedules and other programmatic documents, ensuring that they are high quality, accurate, and address the requirements of the sponsor.
• Contributes to efforts to maintain and expand NBTCC capabilities to execute research efforts that may include molecular virology, eukaryotic genome editing, sequencing and bioinformatics, and/or the study of systems level virus‑host interactions.
• Exercises judgment within broadly defined practices and policies in selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions.
• Willingness to work on problems of diverse scope in which analysis of data requires evaluation of identifiable factors, with expert knowledge of complex scientific principles and concepts.
• May determine methods and procedures on new assignments, while mentoring subordinates and/or technical personnel.
• Participates in the testing and evaluation of new technologies and protocols including writing and updating NBACC Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), work instructions and forms to improve NBACC's ability to serve its customers.
• Identifies departures from the Quality Management System (QMS) and initiates actions to investigate and prevent such occurrences.
• Provides analysis, opinions and interpretation, and issues reports.
• Develops, optimizes and validates new or modified methods and procedures.
• Ensures competence of staff to operate specific equipment or perform tests (may issue Authorizations).
• Maintains and evaluates records of analysis and reviews laboratory results, plans and reports.
• Ensures that equipment, reagents and supplies are maintained and used properly.
• Directs, prioritizes, schedules,…