Post-Doc Research Associate - Histocompatibility The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Vacancy ID: PDS004565

Position Summary/Description:

The Postdoctoral Research Associate will have a clinical appointment at UNC Hospitals and serve in an Assistant Director of the Histocompatibility Laboratory capacity. In this role, the Postdoctoral Research Associate will provide oversight of clinical testing in the Histocompatibility Laboratory. Oversight includes ongoing monitoring of quality control/assurance activities, test evaluation/validation, review and sign out of test results, consultation with clinicians regarding test result interpretation at selection conferences, consultation requests and during on-call situations. The Postdoctoral Research Associate will also support the design of a study aiming to improve the diagnosis of lymphoproliferative disorders in Malawi by developing and validating viral load testing for EBV and HHV8 and support the deployment of this method by study teams in Malawi. The work is based domestically at UNC-CH, with opportunity to lead in-person training for study personnel in Malawi. Primary responsibilities include assay development and experimental execution including assay optimization, sample processing (collected from ongoing cohort study in Malawi), PCR primer generation/selection, quantitative PCR testing, and training study staff in running prospectively collected samples on platforms available in Malawi (via zoom or in-person). The Postdoctoral Research Associate will analyze clinical and laboratory datasets, maintain laboratory equipment and ensure compliance with safety protocols, prepare research findings for presentations at scientific meetings and peer-reviewed publications, and may provide training and supervision to graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and technicians to foster a collaborative and educational laboratory environment.

Education and Experience:

Certification by a board recognized by CLIA, such as the American Society of Clinical Pathology (DMLI)