Job Title
Research Scientist

Agency
Texas A&M University Health Science Center

Department
Ibt - Cedp - Dashwood

Proposed Minimum Salary
Commensurate

Job Location
Houston, Texas

Job Type
Staff

Job Description

What we want
The Research Scientist will be involved in studying the epigenetic and transcriptional regulation in cancer immunotherapy and hematological diseases. The position will support the studies using cell based system, animal models, molecular assays, and high-throughput sequencing analysis. The position will also support to mentor junior lab members and lead research projects.

What you need to know

Salary: Will be commensurate based on the selected hire's education and experience.

Location/Schedule: Houston, TX/Full-Time

We encourage you to apply! To help us learn more about your experience and interest in the role, please submit a cover letter and CV/resume. You can upload both documents in the CV/Resume section of the application.

Responsibilities

Epigenetic studies in normal development and disease

• Identification of epigenetic mechanisms in cancer and immune cells.
• Studies may include epigenetic related mechanisms, multi-omics studies, biochemical studies, cell based assays, establishing cell based therapy platforms.

Molecular, cellular, and biochemical work

• Lead and perform experiments involving epigenetic analyses, molecular biology, protein biochemistry, and related disease models.
• Experimental procedures may include tissue culture, primary cell culture, 3D spheroid/organoid culture, co-IP, ChIP, PCR, qPCR, flow cytometry/FACS, Western blotting, ELISA, DNA methylation assays, fluorescence microscopy, and related in vitro assays using wild-type and genetically modified/null cell lines, animal work.

Rodent work and preclinical tumor models

• Conduct rodent studies according to approved protocols and the highest ethical standards.
• Participate in breeding and genotyping.
• Carefully monitor and record rodent well-being and morbidity.
• Perform sample collection and histology analysis.
• Administer drugs/compounds to study animals via intra-oral, intra-venous, intra-peritoneal or subcutaneous routes.

Collaborations & presentations

• Participate actively in weekly lab meetings within the center, and with other internal and external collaborators.
• Participate in joint projects involving faculty, postdoctoral fellows, students, technicians, and core facility personnel.

Mentorship and leadership

• Assist with training graduate students and junior lab personnel.
• Assist with research grant proposals, conference abstracts, manuscripts, figures, tables, and timely publishable reports.
• Conduct literature searches and contributes to new experimental approaches with rigor and reproducibility.

Required Education and Experience

• PHD in biochemistry, cell biology, immunology, cancer biology, pharmacology, molecular biology, or a related biomedical science field.
• Six years experience with molecular biology, cell culture, and genetics/epigenetics, immunology.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in developmental or cancer biology, cell biology, immunology, epigenetics, or related biomedical research.
• Experience with animal cancer models, primary tissue culture, 3D spheroid/organoid cultures, molecular biology, protein biochemistry, immunology assays, and/or cell-based therapy.
• Experience with epigenetics, immunology, with technical expertise of FACS, RNA-seq, Co-IP, next-generation sequencing library preparation.
• Experience in performing rodent studies under approved IACUC protocols, including oral gavage, intra-venous, intra-peritoneal and subcutaneous injections.
• Experience with antibody development, hybridoma screening, ELISA-based assays, and antibody characterization.
• Clinical or translational research background, including MD training or experience connecting preclinical findings to human disease relevance

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to multi-task and work cooperatively with others.
• Ability to perform all tasks and job responsibilities safety, without injury to self and others, in compliance with Texas A&M System and TAMHSC guidelines.
• Must be literate in the English language and be able to comprehend and follow effectively both written and verbal instructions.
• Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills in English.
• Ability to do independent research in areas related to developmental, cancer and epigenetics.
• Ability to maintain accurate records, analyze data, prepare figures and reports, and contribute to manuscripts and presentations.

Why Texas A&M University?

• Medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life and AD&D, flexible spending accounts, and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M contributing to employee health and basic life premiums
• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
• Health and Wellness: Free exercise programs and release time
• Professional Development: All employees have access to free LinkedIn Learning training, webinars, and limited financial support to attend conferences, workshops, and more
• Educational release time and tuition assistance for completing a degree while a Texas A&M employee
• Living Well, a program at Texas A&M that has been built by employees, for employees

Instructions to Applicants: Applications received by Texas A&M University must either have all job application data entered, or a resume attached. Failure to provide all job application data or a complete resume could result in an invalid submission and a rejected application. We encourage all applicants to upload a resume or use a LinkedIn profile to prepopulate the online application.

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution's verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution's procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.