POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE

School of Medicine

Established in 1930, Duke University School of Medicine is the youngest of the nation's top medical schools. Ranked sixth among medical schools in the nation, the School takes pride in being an inclusive community of outstanding learners, investigators, clinicians, and staff where interdisciplinary collaboration is embraced and great ideas accelerate translation of fundamental scientific discoveries to improve human health locally and around the globe. Composed of more than 2,600 faculty physicians and researchers, nearly 2,000 students, and more than 6,200 staff, the Duke University School of Medicine along with the Duke University School of Nursing, and Duke University Health System comprise Duke Health, a world-class academic medical center. The Health System encompasses Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, Duke Raleigh Hospital, Duke Health Integrated Practice, Duke Primary Care, Duke Home Care and Hospice, Duke Health and Wellness, and multiple affiliations.

Work Performed

We are seeking a full-time, post-doctoral research scientist to lead investigation into the genetic causes of heart failure in patients with congenital heart disease. This individual must have a PhD (or equivalent) degree with corresponding research expertise in wet bench-based cardiovascular biomedical research. 

Key aspects of this job are 1) to develop patient-based cardiac myocyte lines from patients with congenital heart disease, 2) use these lines to model heart failure in congenital heart disease using a variety of functional in vitro assays including biochemistry, calcium handling, contractility, and cell survival assays, 3) grow and develop a biorepository of patient-derived DNA, blood plasma, and cells, 4) assist with research participant recruitment and obtaining consent, and 5) integrate key research findings with parallel research efforts within the research team. 

Other aspects of the job include: 1) establish/optimize work procedures and experimental protocols, 2) communicate with regulatory authorities and perform administrative tasks, when needed, 3) evaluate and interpret collected data under the guidance of the principal investigator, 4) help in the preparation of oral presentations and/or written reports for meetings, manuscripts, and grants, and 5) contribute to the development of the research project through collaboration and incorporation of relevant literature. 

Required Skills 

- Ability to lead basic-translational research direction with indirect supervision from the PI 

- Willingness to work with human tissue samples, non-embryonic stem cells, and mice 

- Ability to independently culture and care for mammalian cell lines, including human-derived lines 

- Ability to independently perform molecular biologic techniques such as PCR, genomic DNA extraction, qPCR, RNA extraction, gel electrophoresis 

- Ability to perform in vitro cell viability, calcium signaling, apoptosis, contractility assays with indirect supervision 

- Willingness to consent human subjects and to ensure proper regulatory compliance with human subject research with supervision 

- Strong work ethic and attention to detail 

- Strong communication skills and English fluency 

- Strong ability to maintain confidentiality with private health information 

- Willingness to work on-site at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina

Minimum Qualifications

Education

See job description for education requirements.

Experience

Seejob description for requirements.

Duke is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

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Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essentialjob functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.