Research Associate - Dept. of Cellular, Molecular, and Genetic Medicine

Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action university providing access to education and employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, political affiliation, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or disability.

Position Summary:

A Postdoctoral position is available immediately in the Samso Lab to study structural and functional aspects of a calcium release channel in the context of skeletal and cardiac muscles using biochemistry, cell biology, and 3D structural determination using cryo-electron microscopy. The goal of the project is to gain mechanistic insight into the factors affecting intracellular calcium and cell excitability.

Please see for further details.

Core Responsibilities:

• Ability to design project(s), carry out experiments, analyze data, and interpret results independently
• Communicate periodically with the Principal Investigator
• Follow standard operating procedures established in the laboratory
• Maintain clear and detailed documentation through electronic and hand-written means
• Write scientific manuscripts
• Present results and national and international meetings
• Ability to collaborate with lab members
• Mentor junior members of the lab

Minimum Hiring Standards:

• The candidate must have a PhD degree in Biochemistry, Chemistry, or a related field
• Record of scholarly achievement
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from various backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at VCU

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience in cryo-EM or structural biology
• Experience in Western Blot, radioligand assays, mammalian cell culture, calcium imaging, and protein purification
• Experience in linux computing and image processing
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

The School of Medicine continuously strives for our workplace and learning environment to reflect the demographic and social milieu of the communities we serve. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply.

ORP Eligible: Yes

VCU is committed to hiring veterans! VCU will include a veteran's period(s) of military service in the calculation of their annual leave accrual rate. This may provide veterans with an increased leave accrual!