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The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (PBSCI) within the UW School of Medicine is the third largest clinical department  with 285 full-time faculty members, 280 clinical faculty members, and over 300 staff. Department faculty provide clinical services in 5 hospitals, 14 primary care locations, and several outpatient sites in addition to telepsychiatry consultations to more than 150 clinics in Washington and beyond. As the only academic psychiatry department serving the five state WWAMI region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho), the Department’s highly competitive residency training program is largely responsible for developing the mental health workforce in the Pacific Northwest. The Department’s robust research portfolio totals $35 million in grants and contracts per year for projects ranging from clinical neurosciences to treatment development to health policy and population health. The Department is recognized as an international leader in developing, testing, and implementing Collaborative Care, an integrated care model increasingly seen as a solution for population-based mental health care. Other areas of excellence include Addictions, Autism, High Risk Youth, Neurosciences, and Trauma, and the Department is developing innovative new programs in Technology and Mental Health, Global Mental Health, Maternal and Child Mental Health, and Targeted Intervention Development.

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is recruiting for a Research Scientist.

Describe the field of research this position is engaged in:
Vaccine and Antibody Development for Substance Use Disorders, Drug Overdose, Chemical and Biological Threats.

Describe the purpose of the research project(s) this position supports:
The Pravetoni lab at the University of Washington School of Medicine is seeking a scientist for development of vaccines and antibody-based therapeutics to counteract opioid use disorders and overdoses. Our unique multidisciplinary research program integrates rational vaccine design, immunomodulators, formulation/delivery platforms, pre-clinical models, analysis of B and T cell lymphocyte repertoire, GLP/GMP studies to support regulatory approval and clinical evaluation, and ad hoc industry collaborations. Our team is currently undertaking Phase I clinical trials of vaccines targeting various opioids. Strategies and platforms are applied to development of vaccines or antibodies against biological or chemical threats (e.g., SARS-CoV-2, cancer, antibiotic bacterial infections).

We are seeking a Research Scientist to focus on analysis of immune responses to vaccines in pre-clinical and clinical samples by techniques such as ELISA, ELISPOT, flow cytometry, cell sorting (FACS), cell sorting paired with B cell receptor (BCR) sequencing, RNA sequencing, or IgSeq.

The ideal candidate will work in team efforts focused on pre-clinical and clinical testing of novel vaccines in animal models as well as human subjects.
The ideal candidate will work in team efforts focused on evaluation of vaccine-specific immune responses by assays such as: flow cytometry, ELISA, Octet, Blitz or equivalent technique or instrument.

The ideal candidate will support team efforts focused on technology transfer of such conjugate vaccines to Contract Manufacturing Organizations. As such, the individual is expected to develop Standard Operating Procedures to detail the conjugation and qualification process.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
The position is focused on vaccine development by various technologies to perform immunoprofiling of the innate and adaptive immune response.
The ideal candidate will work in team efforts focused on pre-clinical testing of such conjugate vaccines in animal models and human subjects.
The ideal candidate will work in team efforts focused on evaluation of vaccine-specific immune responses by assays such as: flow cytometry, ELISA, FACS, ELISPOT, cytokine panels, X ray crystallography, and other immune-related approaches.
The ideal candidate will support team efforts focused on technology transfer of such conjugate vaccines to Contract Manufacturing Organizations. As such, the individual is expected to develop Standard Operating Procedures to detail the conjugation and qualification process.

Preferred Qualifications: experience with flow cytometry, FACS, sequencing of human samples (PBMC, or sorted B/T cells).
Distribution of workload will likely be:
•70% Solve complex and varied problems related to on-going research projects.  Independently perform the following experimental procedures: flow cytometry, FACS, work with core facilities to collect sequencing data, ELISPOT, and other immunology-focused techniques.
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•20% Actively involved in logistics related to sample collections from human or animal subjects.
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•10% Assist with publications, patents, or other disclosure such as power points or posters. The individual could be a co-author or 1st author in publications depending upon research output.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
•Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacology, Immunology, Chemistry, Pharmaceutics or related discipline
•One year work related experience
•Ability to use a flow cytometer, or willing to learn
•Ability to perform ex vivo analysis of B cells (e.g., ELISPOT), or other cell type isolated from human subjects

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

DESIRED EXPERIENCE
•Experience working with groups engaged in immunorelated research using flow cytometry, FACS and similar techniques
•Working knowledge of Prism software to graph data, or other software required to perform research duties
•Ability to prepare posters or power point presentations to showcase data at internal or external meetings, or to support publications in peer review articles
As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs.  For detailed information on Benefits for this position, click here.


Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Workforce Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.