Scientist II - SOM Cardiac Lab

Job

Employee Type: exempt full-time

Division:
Laboratory Animal Science Program

Facility:
Frederick:
Ft Detrick

Location:

PO Box B, Frederick, MD 21702 USA

The Frederick National Laboratory is 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.

Accountability, Compassion, Collaboration, Dedication, Integrity and Versatility; it's the FNL way. Program Description

The Laboratory & Animal Sciences Program (LASP) provides exceptional quality animal care and technical support services for laboratory and animal research performed at the National Cancer Institute at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research. LASP executes this mission by providing a broad spectrum of husbandry, veterinary, state-of-the-art technology, and pre-clinical scientific services. LASP also provides primary support to the Standardized Organoid Modeling (SOM) Initiative to address the need for validated, scalable, and reproducible organoid-based Novel Alternative Methods (NAMs) in biomedical research.

Our team provides technical infrastructure, operational integration, and specialized expertise to drive the development and optimization of organoid models of normal (non-cancerous) human tissues derived from a wide range of tissue types and donor sources.

Position Overview

The Standardized Organoid Modeling (SOM) Center is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Scientist II to join the Cardiac Tissue Engineering Laboratory, directed by Dr. Aitor Aguirre. The NIH SOM Initiative aims to advance human organoid technologies by establishing validated, scalable, and reproducible organoid-based New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for biomedical research. The initiative focuses on developing physiologically relevant models of normal human tissues, with an emphasis on standardization, quality control, and broad applicability across research and translational settings.

The successful candidate will play a leading scientific and technical role in the development, optimization, and validation of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiac organoid platforms. Our laboratory integrates stem cell biology, cardiac developmental biology, tissue engineering, and advanced functional phenotyping to generate multicellular cardiac models that reproduce key structural, cellular, and physiological features of the human heart. A central responsibility of this position will be to establish robust and reproducible methodologies for cardiac organoid production and characterization, including quantitative standards for organoid identity, maturation, quality, and function across multiple iPSC lines, donors, and experimental batches.

The Scientist II will independently lead defined research activities, develop and validate new experimental methodologies, coordinate collaborative projects, and contribute to the scientific and operational development of the SOM Cardiac Laboratory.

RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT AND OPPORTUNITIES

The SOM Cardiac Tissue Engineering Laboratory offers a dynamic, interdisciplinary environment dedicated to advancing human organoid technologies and biomedical innovation. The successful candidate will contribute to pioneering research, develop cutting-edge technologies, establish standards for cardiac organoids, and generate high-impact scientific work. We seek highly motivated, creative, and collaborative individuals passionate about breakthrough science and advancing human disease modeling, drug discovery, and translational research.

Key

Roles/Responsibilities

• Independently design, develop, optimize, and validate experimental methods to generate human iPSC-derived cardiac organoids, emphasizing reproducibility, scalability, and physiological relevance.
• Lead research projects focused on cardiac organoid development, cellular composition, tissue organization, maturation, and physiological characterization.
• Establish and implement standardized operating procedures (SOPs), quality-control metrics, and acceptance criteria for iPSC culture, differentiation, cardiac organoid production, and functional assessment.
• Develop and validate quantitative assays to characterize cardiac organoid morphology, viability, cellular identity, contractility, electrophysiology, calcium handling, and molecular…