Assistant Specialist - Dugger Lab

Position overview

Salary range:
The reasonable estimate for this position is $65,800 - $69,400

Application Window

Open date: July 23, 2026

Next review date: Friday, Aug 7, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)

Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Thursday, Dec 31, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)

Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

Assistant Specialist - Dugger Lab

Position Description

NATURE AND PURPOSE

The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine is seeking a full-time Assistant Specialist. The purpose of this position is to provide support, coordination, and leadership for research studies of Dr. Brittany Dugger. This is not a remote position; the chosen candidate will be expected to be on premise within the UC Davis Health and UCD Davis campus.

This recruitment is conducted at the assistant rank. The resulting hire will be at the assistant rank, regardless of the proposed appointee's qualifications.

This Specialist position has a narrow focus in a specialized area and provides technical or specialized expertise in the planning and execution of research projects investigating the spectrum of neurological disorders involving processes of neurodegeneration including Alzheimer s disease and related dementia. This position requires experience in basic research and previous experience working in projects primarily focused on postmortem human samples and associated data.

The Specialist must be able to work effectively independently as well as be an invaluable team member.

The Specialist stays apprised of emerging issues and problems and maintains technical competence in the designated area(s) of specialization. Within this defined area and when appropriate, the Specialist is expected to provide leadership, facilitate teamwork, and develop collaborative relationships with colleagues and supply input to the planning of research and educational programs. The Specialist will be evaluated for merit and promotion using three basic criteria outlined below.

II. RESEARCH IN SPECIALIZED AREAS (90% EFFORT)

A. The Specialist will use research experience to aid in leading research projects under the direction of Brittany Dugger, PhD. Specific duties for this position include developing and enhancing protocols, writing of research projects assessment of operational and material requirements for the conduction of current and proposed research studies; collection, management and analysis of research data, assisting with autopsy programs, as well as laboratory safety and maintenance.

B. Collaborate with other research and extension personnel affiliated with research activities involving (e.g., overseeing workflows for digital whole slide imaging including providing annotation on anatomic specific areas as well as select pathologies). The Specialist may help with facilitating information required for material and data transfer agreements. The specialist will be expected to maintain proper laboratory trainings, as well as maintaining documentations for the laboratory related to laboratory trainings and safety items.

C. In addition, the Specialist needs to utilize technical skills suited to the needs of the projects. This will require demonstrated proficiency with laboratory bench work (including but not limited to digital pathology, database systems and servers, immunohistochemistry, basic and specialized tissue stain, microscopical analysis and imaging), strict adherence to protocol, keen observation, organization skills, and extensive documentation. Furthermore, the position may include aiding with duties associated with on-call brain autopsies (that will be working outside of typical hours- i.e. nights/weekends) to support research studies.

The Specialist will also be required to maintain an excellent communication channel with the Neuropathology Core and collaborators and procure accuracy and integrity of the research data and keep a digital laboratory note book up to date with enough details to aid in QA/QC of projects/tasks.

D. This position will also be responsible to assure the laboratory is compliant with all laboratory safety and state, federal and institutional regulation and guidelines. This position entails updating, modifying, and revising plans for standard laboratory procedures to fulfill the needs of each research project. In addition to maintaining documentation and correct usage of laboratory equipment such as the digital slide scanner, microscopes, cryostat, and laminar flow hoods in addition to their proper maintenance.

E. This position will also be responsible for assisting Dr. Dugger with writing and submitting protocols, preparing applications and abstracts, and preparing manuscript, as requested. Evaluation of performance in research activities or in outreach activities as deemed applicable to the…