Lab Technician (625490) | School of Medicine | Neurosurgery

About the Role

Dr. Paul Koch’s lab in the Department of Neurosurgery is seeking a laboratory technician to assist him and graduate/postdoc students with studies in rodents in the fields of traumatic brain injury and epilepsy. These studies complement Dr. Koch’s clinical work and research efforts in human epilepsy.

There is also the opportunity to assist with human clinical or translational studies, including administering tasks to research subjects undergoing EEG recordings, operation of research neural data acquisition equipment, and behavioral and neural data analysis. Appropriate certifications, training, and oversight would be provided.

Opportunities are available for scientific publication and presentation for the motivated individual, as well as learning electrophysiological techniques and neural data analysis.

Responsibilities

• Animal Care (35%)
  • Maintain rodent colony in conjunction with the animal care facility and approved protocols, including pre- and post-operative monitoring and appropriate documentation.
  • Learn to assist in rodent surgeries and procedures.
• Data Collection and Analysis (35%)
  • Perform brain dissection and sectioning, histology, immunohistochemistry, and light microscopy (training available).
  • Learn and perform rodent behavioral testing.
  • Organize and maintain thorough experimental logs.
• Laboratory Management (10%)
  • Maintain necessary laboratory safety, animal, and hazardous material certifications and documentation as required by research and animal care facilities.
  • Order and maintain necessary supplies and equipment.
  • Keep current inventory of laboratory equipment and supplies, updated at least quarterly or as required.
• Communication (20%)
  • Report directly to the Principal Investigator, Dr. Koch.
  • Provide oral reports on project status, animal care, or laboratory issues at formal lab meetings and summarize discussions and tasks in written reports.
  • Collaborate with and assist students and post-docs in the lab; help train new lab members.
  • Communicate with collaborating investigators/labs at VCU and the VA.
  • Contribute to the summary and interpretation of experimental findings for abstracts at scientific meetings or manuscripts for publication.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Work experience in a research laboratory (outside of college coursework).
• Experience and strong interest in the experimental neurosciences.
• Willingness and ability to learn and apply new techniques in animal surgery, rodent behavior, histology, electrophysiology, etc.
• Ability to conduct multiple experiments simultaneously.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Ability to function semi-autonomously with supervision.
• Knowledge of scientific and technical principles, practices, and regulatory requirements.
• Ability to communicate effectively and interact with co-workers in the laboratory, department, and university.
• Willingness and ability to travel between VA Medical Center and VCU as needed.
• Must successfully complete appropriate training and certification in research animal use and care (rodents) from VCU and the VA Medical Center upon hire.
• Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of respect, professionalism, and civility with a diverse population of faculty, staff, and students, or a commitment to do so.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience in a life science program (biology, neuroscience, biochemistry, etc.) or a technical program such as biomedical engineering or computer science.
• Experience with laboratory rodent handling.
• Experience with rodent surgery.
• Experience with tissue sectioning and immunohistochemistry.

Pay

$36,000 - $45,000 annually.

Benefits

All full-time university staff are eligible for VCU’s robust benefits package, including:

• Comprehensive health benefits.
• Paid annual and holiday leave.
• Generous tuition benefits.
• Retirement planning and savings options, including tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs.
• Employee discounts.
• Well-being resources.
• Abundant opportunities for career development and advancement.

Schedule

• Full-time (40 hours per week).
• This is a restricted position with a set end date of 06/30/2027; continued employment is dependent upon project need, availability of funding, and performance.

FLSA Exemption Status: Non-Exempt.