Research Specialist

Research Specialist A

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn's distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning.

As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America's Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

The employee will work closely with the users of the Spatial Transcriptomics Core and Tissue Processing and Imaging Core at the School of Dental Medicine for 50% effort and also provide research support in the laboratory of Dr. Tizzano for the remaining 50% effort. For the two cores, the employee will be primarily responsible for performing the 10X Genomics Xenium In Situ workflow, and instrumentation training (slide scanner, cryostat) for core users.

In Dr. Tizzano's lab, the employee will work on the role of taste receptors in solitary chemosensory cells and macrophages of the gingiva and other mucosae, using a variety of laboratory techniques. This position requires working with animals and working in the PDM vivarium. In each role, the employee will be responsible for general lab maintenance.

Job duties/responsibilities include performing benchtop workflow for Xenium In Situ, which is a 3 day workflow including reagent preparation, slide de-paraffinization, tissue de-crosslinking, probe hybridization, ligation, amplification, cell segmentation staining, and Xenium analyzer preparation, loading, and clean-up. This involves meticulous adherence to a standardized protocol. The employee will also be working closely with Dr. Tizzano and the Tizzano Lab personnel and the expected work includes, but it is not limited to: experiments of general cell biology and molecular biology, physiology, calcium imaging, cell culture, histology, immune assays, mouse surgery, RNA-seq, special transcriptomics, immunofluorescence microscopy.

Responsibilities will include Tizzano lab and mouse colony maintenance, including but not limited to: chemical inventory, equipment's maintenance, receiving ordered supplies, keeping the lab organized, letting the PI know when supplies and chemicals are low for re-order, and mouse genotyping, breeding and weaning.

Qualifications include a Bachelor of Science and 0 to 1 year of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.

Job location is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

This position offers opportunities for independent research projects with opportunity for publication, as well as training in cutting-edge technologies.

Pay range is $45,278.00 - $47,500.00 Annual Rate.

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state or local law.

Special requirements background checks may be required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University benefits include health, life, and flexible spending accounts, tuition benefits, retirement plans, time away from work, long-term care insurance, wellness and work-life resources, professional and personal development, university resources, discounts and special services, flexible work hours, Penn home ownership services, and adoption assistance.