Career Center

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty. 

The University of Washington, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology is a broad and dynamic department that strives for a consistent level of high achievement in all of its activities. The Department offers full diagnostic services in all areas of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, is a top ranked research organization as measured by research awards from the National Institutes of Health and offers an array of specialized educational training programs.

The UW Medicine Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology brings together state-of-the-art technology and highly trained, world renowned personnel to provide comprehensive diagnostic and personalized service to physicians, community hospitals, independent laboratories, and other health care organizations. Our operations are based at the University of Washington Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, South Lake Union, Northwest Hospital and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Faculty members also serve at Seattle Children's Hospital, the Veteran’s Administration Puget Sound Healthcare System, and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. These collaborative efforts have generated innovative, translational studies in the basic mechanisms of disease as they apply to diagnostic laboratory medicine and pathology.

The laboratory of Dr. Amber Nolan affiliated with the UW BioRepository and Integrated Neuropathology (BRaIN) Research Laboratory has an outstanding opportunity for a Full Time Research Scientist. This is an excellent opportunity for the scientist to participate in research activities to understand the cellular and molecular processes underlying traumatic brain injury (TBI), through the study of the human brain and animal models. This position will involve work with mice, including colony maintenance, animal behavior studies, surgical procedures, and electrophysiology. It will also involve bench research techniques performed on both human and mouse tissues including immunofluorescence, fluorescence microscopy, and image analysis.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the general supervision of the Principle Investigator, the research scientist will primarily perform the following tasks:
•Handle mice, maintain mouse breeding colony, collect tissue for genotyping, perform mouse surgical procedures, and conduct electrophysiology experiments. Help maintain animal inventory records (40%).
•Tissue collection, processing, sectioning, staining and immunohistochemical labeling, and imaging. Perform analysis of acquired images using programs such as Imaris/ImageJ/HALO (40%).
•Maintain data records, graph and perform statistical analysis on data. Present results to PIs and other lab members in group settings (10%).
oSynthesis of results into research conclusions including associated figures, presentations, and writing of publications
oParticipate in lab meetings and discussions of research journal articles and other relevant topics.
•Participate in developing hypotheses, research approach and methodologies for experiments performed in the lab to address selective vulnerability in TBI and neurodegenerative disease (10%)
oMay demonstrate and explain various laboratory techniques including new methodologies developed in lab to laboratory personnel, students, and others. May direct the work of students and others.
oOperate standard lab equipment such as microscopes, centrifuges, balances, pH meters, and use an electrophysiology rig. Perform quality control and quality assurance for all techniques using this equipment. Assist in development of new procedures, including use of optogenetic techniques to be used with the electrophysiology rig in the lab.
oMake laboratory solutions, order and prepare supplies for group use.
oService and maintain laboratory equipment in good working order.
oWork as a member of a team but also be able to work independently in the laboratory and animal facility.
oIn addition to working with mouse tissue using the above techniques, this position may assist with quantitative assays associated with human brain tissue and cells as well, which will involve specialized quantitative fluid and tissue-based assays, and design of new techniques involving the digital spatial profiling system from Nanostring.
o Finally, the research scientist will be expected to assist with a variety of special projects, and research related duties as assigned in a research environment where innovation and novel analytic applications form the foundation of an integrated model of precision neuropathology and systems neuroscience.

This position has operational access to patient health information and clinical materials including pathology specimens and archival blocks and slides, and for these activities must adhere to the covered entity HIPPA Privacy and CLIA rules and has 'dotted line' reporting to the CLIA certificate holders and applicable clinical laboratory management staff.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
•A Bachelor's Degree with coursework in Neuroscience, a major in Neuroscience strongly preferred.
•Up to 1 year experience performing immunohistochemistry, slicing tissue, knowledge of neuroanatomy, performing quantitative image analysis, and performing whole cell patch clamp electrophysiology.

Conditions of Employment:
UW Research Scientists are essential to Dr. Nolan’s laboratory and BRaIN research laboratory activities; this position may occasionally require work after-hours, weekends and or outside normal business hours.   

Application Process:

The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.