Associate Research Scientist; PREP

PREP Research Associate

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas.

Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

Laboratory Automation for Cell-Based Assays (U.S. Citizens preferred)

The Material Measurement Laboratory (MML) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking qualified persons (U.S. citizens preferred) to contribute to the development of advanced measurement infrastructure for biomanufacturing and the automation of biological assays. These activities underpin distributed manufacturing concepts made possible by the emergence of biofoundry networks and cloud laboratories. The selected candidate will join a dynamic, multidisciplinary team developing transferable cell expansion processes and assay performance specifications for automated systems to ensure reliability in next‑generation platform manufacturing.

The candidate will contribute to the unique measurement and tooling needs required to facilitate innovation in the U.S. bioeconomy.

• Conduct innovative research in transferable manufacturing systems for living-cell reference materials.
• Translate experimental designs into automated laboratory instrumentation programs.
• Design and execute experiments, analyze data, and interpret results.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams across the institute.
• Write and publish manuscripts for peer-reviewed and open-science mediums.

• Ph.D. in Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Cell Biology, Synthetic Biology, or a related field.
• Experience working with mammalian cell cultures, specifically induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
• Experience writing and executing programs on large laboratory automation systems (e.g., liquid handlers, automated microscopes) for cellular measurements.
• A track record in interdisciplinary research, particularly within automated laboratory frameworks.
• Strong oral and written communication skills and the ability to travel occasionally for collaborations.
• Present findings at national conferences and institutional meetings.

Please upload the following with your application:

• CV/Resume (limit to 3 pages; include a valid email address. The resume will not be considered if the following information is included: self portraits, phone number, home address/country, citizenship status, languages spoken, sex/gender.)

The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. To that end, the university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or other legally protected characteristic. The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance and merit without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the program involved.

The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to a range of applicants. This collection of information is needed to facilitate administrative functions of the PREP Program. NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements.

Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates. Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.

15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)