Research Professional - Biophysics - Prof. Alptekin Aksan

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Job Title Research Professional 4 - Biophysics
- Prof. Alptekin Aksan

This is a one-year full-time short-term position. It is possible this position might be extended for a second year depending on satisfactory performance, the availability of funds and/or work for the position, and meeting standard University employment requirements.

This position is not eligible for H-1B visa sponsorship.

Location: UMN - TC, East Bank

Schedule:

• Monday
  - Friday
• 8:00am - 4:30pm
• 40 hours per week

Duties/Responsibilities

Conduct experiments (70%)

• Lead reversible membrane permeabilization technology adoption by
• Completing training to master protocols for reversible membrane permeabilization.
• Performing installation, calibration, characterization, and validation of membrane permeabilization systems.
• Establishing parameters to ensure consistent, high-efficiency intracellular delivery of cryoprotectant agents; troubleshoot as needed.
• Preparing SOPs for the technology and coordinating with other collaborating sites to ensure and document uniformity of results
• Training other staff in the lab on the adopted technology
• Conducting physicochemical characterization & cryopreservation experiments by Leading the preparation and distribution of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for characterization of frozen and desiccated cryoprotectant agents by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR).
• Characterizing the physical states, glass transition behaviors, and aging characteristics of cryoprotectant cocktails (with and without cells) during storage and documenting the findings in the form of reports and presentations
• Developing freeze/thaw protocols for different cryoprotectant cocktails and preparing SOPs while coordinating adoption with other collaborating sites
• Performing post-thaw viability analyses of cryopreserved cells, documenting, reporting and communicating the results of these experiments to the PI and other collaborating sites.
• Conducting desiccation & room-temperature stabilization experiments by
• Constructing innate and formulation-stabilized room-temperature desiccation survival curves for multiple cell lines
• Desiccating cells to defined residual water contents and assessing viability after ambient (22°C) storage using established fluorescence based viability dyes in coordination with other participating sites
• Characterizing the physical states, glass transition behaviors, and aging characteristics of cryoprotectant cocktails (with and without cells) during storage using established protocols
• Training other lab group members on the SOPs to be followed for this work

Coordination, reporting & documentation. (25%)

• Leading generation of project management tools, including Gantt charts, preparing and presenting regular progress updates to the PI, collaborators, and the funder, establish protocols for sharing and storing of metadata, and lead troubleshooting efforts for resolving technical bottlenecks with collaborating sites.
• Leading documenting of the experimental logs, details, meeting logs, quarterly summaries, validation reports, and monthly progress reports tied to defined deliverables and milestones.
• Lead presentation of the progress reports to other sites, if needed, in person, representing the work conducted in the lab

Training of other lab staff in experimental work. (5%)

Required qualifications:

• BA/BS in biomedical engineering, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, materials science, pharmaceutical formulation development or a related field plus at least five years of relevant experience or a combination of education and relevant work experience to equal at least nine years.
• Hands-on experience with mammalian cell culture, and…