Senior Animal Specialist , Infectious Disease- Center Discovery and Innovation- CDI

Position: Senior Animal Specialist , Infectious Disease- Center for Discovery and Innovation- CDI

The Senior Animal Specialist, Infectious Disease, CDI will be working in the lab of Dr. Erika Shor performing research in the study of infectious disease and microbiology. The research will include running animal models of fungal infection and colonization and analyzing fungal cells in the laboratory using standard microbiological and molecular biological techniques. Knowledge and/or experience in mouse models of human disease and standard molecular biological techniques (aseptic culture, microbial propagation in lab media, PCR, gel electrophoresis, DNA purification) will be useful to the position.

The Center for Discovery and Innovation- CDI was established by Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) as an academic basic and translational research enterprise to rapidly translate science innovation to the clinic and to improve outcomes for patients with cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune disease and other acute and chronic diseases. The CDI has grown rapidly since its origins in 2019, and now has 39 labs, 200+ scientists and allied personnel supported by 78 NIH and DoD grants and more than 87 other grants and contracts.

Areas of expertise include genomics, epigenetics, drug resistance, stem cell biology, drug discovery, diagnostics and biomarker development, rheumatology and pharmacology.

A day in the life of a Senior Animal Specialist, Infectious Disease at Hackensack Meridian Health includes:

• Perform various research and technical operations relative to ongoing projects to bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens (Evaluation of therapeutics, development of novel diagnostics and studies in pathogenesis and virulence).
• Preparation of BSL-2 and BSL-3 pathogen cultures.
• Assist in analysis of host immune response using Flow cytometry and other immunological methods
• Perform other laboratory analytical assays such as real time PCR, ELISA and western blots.
• Set-up, maintain, sterilize, and decontaminate the devices for aerosol infection, homogenizer, and other equipment.
• Autoclave waste materials and clean biosafety cabinets and equipment.
• Train new personnel to work under high level biocontainment. This includes basic laboratory bench work and animal studies.
• Ensures that the staff are trained and evaluated on their knowledge of and adherence to compliance policies and procedures specific to their jobs.
• Understands and adheres to HMH CDI compliance standards.
• Keeps abreast of all pertinent federal and state regulations, laws and policies as they presently exist and as they change or are modified.

Education, Knowledge,

Skills and Abilities

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant science.
• Experience in infectious diseases.
• Comprehensive knowledge in Microbiology, Immunology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.
• Excellent organization and record-keeping skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills are critical.
• All candidates must enroll and be given clearance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Criminal Justice Information Services Division (CJIS) Security Risk Assessment.
• Must retain clearance to work with HHS Tier 1 Select Agents and be enrolled in the Select Agent Program Personnel Reliability Program.

Education, Knowledge,

Skills and Abilities

Preferred:

• CDC approved for work with select agents.
• Minimum of 4 years of experience in work with animal infection models under Biosafety level 3 containment.

Licenses and Certifications Preferred:

• American Association for Laboratory Animal Science Management Certification.

If you feel that the above description speaks directly to your strengths and capabilities, then please apply today!

Minimum rate of $23.97 Hourly
HMH is committed to pay equity and transparency for our team members. The posted rate of pay in this job posting is a reasonable good faith estimate of the minimum base pay for this role at the time of posting in accordance with the New Jersey Pay Transparency Act and does not reflect the full value of our market-competitive total rewards package.

The starting rate of pay is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guarantee of a specific offer. Posted hourly rates may be stated as an annual salary in the offer and posted annual salaries may be stated as an hourly rate in the offer, depending on the level and nature of the job duties and credentials of the candidate.

The base compensation determined at the time of the offer may be different than the posted rate of pay based on a number of non-discriminatory factors, including but not limited to:

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Education and

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Skills:

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