RESEARCH TECHNICIAN II

at  Duke University

RESEARCH TECHNICIAN II

Duke Human Vaccine Institute
The Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI) leads cutting edge vaccine research against infectious diseases that impact global health. Basic science discoveries made by the collaborative DHVI team are contributing to the identification of vaccine and therapeutic candidates for early phase clinical trials using a variety of human and pathogen-derived proteins. We are seeking a motivated and hardworking Research Technician II to support DHVI operations within the Division of Structural Biology. The primary responsibilities will be preparing samples for negative stain electron microscopy (EM), as well as collecting and analyzing EM data.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AT THIS LEVEL

• Education/Training: Work generally requires a bachelor’s degree in botany, biology, zoology, psychology or other directly related scientific field.
• Experience: None required above education/training requirement. OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE.

• Prepare negative stain electron microscopy samples, collect EM data on our microscope, analyze EM data with established computational algorithms and programs, and prepare and distribute final reports.
• Perform complex experiments working with animal and human protein specimens in teams and individually.
• Understand and comply with all safety standards and procedures to insure a safe working environment for all lab staff and adhere to best practices as defined by lab SOPs and as instructed by supervisors.
• Maintain lab notebook and other documentation in an orderly and accurate fashion for tracking work progress, experiments, and results.
• Provide a summary of written work updates and plans each week.
• Keep lab equipment, chemicals reagents and supplies in excellent order. Perform routine lab maintenance, cleaning, ordering and organizing.
• Learn and develop new lab techniques and teach them to other lab staff.
• Collaborate with staff, supervisors, and DHVI investigators to review results and develop new research plans; assist in the training of new personnel.
• Perform other duties assigned by the Principal Investigator and lab leadership.

The successful applicant will have:

• Familiarity and comfort working with computers and standard software (Word, Excel, etc.).
• Good keyboarding skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and within a team, and to troubleshoot and resolve problems.
• The ability to manage multiple, rapidly changing priorities and quickly learn new skills.