Post-Doc Research Associate - Histocompatibility

A global higher education leader in innovative teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consistently ranks as one of the nation's top public universities and is among is the top ten research universities in the nation for federal research expenditures as well as for federally funded social and behavioral sciences research and development.

Here at Carolina, our highly skilled postdocs play a vital role in our research enterprise and towards our overall commitment to research excellence. Across many disciplines, postdocs contribute to the intellectual vitality of the University. They provide innovative ideas and perspectives, foster a stimulating research environment and advance knowledge within their fields. Postdocs are crucial members of our scientific research workforce, contributors to our research outputs and an important reason why Carolina is one of the leading public research institutions in the country.

UNC-Chapel Hill offers postdocs comprehensive medical and vision coverage, paid leave, and benefits and services that support professional development and a healthy work/life balance. Chapel Hill regularly ranks as one of the best college towns and best places to live in the United States, a reputation guided by the diverse social, cultural, recreation and professional opportunities that span the campus and community.

Primary Purpose of Organizational Unit

Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others whom we serve. We accomplish this by providing leadership and excellence in the interrelated areas of patient care, education and research.

Patient care: We promote health and provide superb clinical care while maintaining our strong tradition of reaching underserved populations and reducing health disparities across North Carolina and beyond.

Education: We prepare tomorrow`s healthcare professionals and biomedical researchers from all backgrounds by facilitating learning within innovative and integrated curricula and team-oriented interprofessional education to ensure a highly skilled workforce.

Research: We develop and support a rich array of outstanding health sciences research programs, centers and resources. We provide infrastructure and opportunities for collaboration among disciplines throughout and beyond our university to support outstanding research. We foster programs in the areas of basic, translational, mechanistic and population research.

Position Summary

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.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements

MD or PhD in chemistry, biological science, medical technology, or clinical laboratory science from an accredited institution.

Required Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience

Two years of training in clinical histocompatibility in an ASHI accredited laboratory that included at least 1 year of experience directing or supervising high complexity histocompatibility testing. Experience in the development of molecular diagnostic assays.

Preferred Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience

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

Special Physical/Mental Requirements Special Instructions

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