Mass Spectrometry Chemist - R&D Associate

Requisition Id15913

The University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute (UT-ORII) is assembling a team of Research Faculty and ORNL staff to collaborate in Radiopharmaceuticals as part of the UT-ORII Convergent Research Initiative on the Development and Advancement of Radiopharmaceutical Therapies (DART). UT-ORII was founded in 2019 by the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to help the US maintain prominence as a global leader in innovation and discovery, and to create a robust talent pipeline in areas of growing national need and demand.

UT-ORII is funded by the Department of Energy and the State of Tennessee.

Join us at UT-ORII, where your career will thrive in collaboration with esteemed researchers from both the UT and ORNL. This early-career position will be located at ORNL as a Research Professional staff and as a Joint-Research Faculty at ORNL (JFO) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). As an integral part of the team, you will engage in a dynamic blend of activities, from theoretical explorations and laboratory experiments to crafting comprehensive reports and impactful proposals.

Your innovative ideas will find a home here, shaping ongoing research projects and leaving a lasting mark. Your role goes beyond the lab. Mentorship will be a key aspect, guiding and inspiring graduate and undergraduate students. As a valued, emerging researcher in the ORNL Physical Sciences Directorate and the University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute, you'll have access to a rich network of resources, including seminars, training opportunities, and collaborations that will propel your career forward.

Specifically, we are seeking an R&D Associate who will focus on the development of high precision methods for isotopic and trace analysis to support the development and understanding of novel technologies such as nanocarriers and novel protein-chelator combinations alone and in complex biological environments. The candidate will also focus on precision isotopic and trace analysis on other biological nuclear, and environmental samples.

Candidate will help perform research to develop prototype, cutting-edge devices and mass spectrometry methodologies and/or introduction systems to address challenging analytical problems. A specific interest in bio-inorganic analytical chemistry (mass spectrometry) is preferred. Candidate should have experience / expertise with quadrupole and time-of-flight-based inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) instrumentation and non-mass spectrometric approaches including scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and flow image analysis-based approaches.

This position resides in Chemical and Isotopic Mass Spectrometry (CIMS) Group in the Nuclear Analytical Chemistry (NAC) Section, Chemicals Sciences Division (CSD), Physical Sciences Directorate (PSD) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

As part of our research team, you will be responsible for developing new research focus areas while strengthening current programs and capabilities. In this role you will work closely with the Group Leader and other team members to identify sponsors and programs to seek out new opportunities. As R&D staff, you will be responsible for the development of proposals and the publication of scientific papers.

The ideal candidate will lead current projects and develop high precision mass spectrometry protocols. The R&D focus areas can include, but are not limited to, sample introduction for solid and/or liquid samples, collision and mass shifting technology, isotopic analysis, determination of novel material signatures, single cell or partial detection, high throughput analysis, age dating, standard production, and how to apply the information to a system.

Your work will contribute to the advancement of material characterizations for trace and ultra trace material using a suite of high precision analytical methodologies. The candidate should have some familiarity with inorganic mass spectrometry sample preparation.

The (CIMS) group has extensive history in the analysis of material dating back to the early 1960s. The team is in the Ultra Trace Forensic Science Center which houses a suite of advanced and modern laboratories. The facility contains over 10000 square feet of cleanroom space for separations and sample preparation. In addition, there are higher level laboratories across campus for various applications.

The separation laboratories feature unique automated separation systems, and sample handling infrastructure. In addition, the group currently has multiple MC-ICP-MS, TIMS, triple quad, glow discharge, IRMS, and a wide variety of sample induction system.

• Integrate with the UT-ORII DART initiative for radiopharmaceutical development and understanding
• Collaborate across institutions to advance research in DART
• Development of new and novel analysis protocols
• Analyze samples via ICP-MS (quadrupole and…