Life Science Research Professional 2

Job Description The Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology has a long tradition of major contributions in basic research, a new commitment to clinical and outcomes research, a track record of training fellows for academic careers, and a longitudinal commitment to providing care for patients with complex gastrointestinal and liver diseases. Stanford University is seeking a Life Science Research Professional 2 to help build and maintain a culturomics platform. In addition, you will perform complex functions and activities involved in defined research projects, and independently conduct and analyze experiments in the area of diet-microbiome-immune interactions in the Spencer Lab . This is a unique opportunity to serve as the founding member of a new lab at Stanford. The gut microbiota—dense, diverse microbes inhabiting the GI tract—drives host metabolism, xenobiotic processing, and defense against pathogens. Our lab develops and applies novel technologies to advance microbiome science, with a focus on the understudied small intestine, whose ecology is altered across many GI disorders. Because stool reflects distal colonic communities, we use a capsule-based device to sample site-specific small-intestinal microbiota in humans. In this role, you will work closely with the PI and senior researchers to both execute experiments and support day-to-day wet-lab operations. Core duties will include helping to establish culturomics pipeline in the Spencer Lab in collaboration with Dr. Spencer and a top expert in the field. Using both healthy subject and those with GI disease we aim to create multiple diverse culture collections from each type of subject. These will be both from the small intestine, colon, and feces. These culture collections will then be tested in gnotobiotic mouse models to understand their therapeutic potential with the ultimate goal of developing microbial medicines for humans. Given the labs focus, we will aim to understand how to leverage dietary factors to promote specific functions that modulate the immune system. This is a highly collaborative, fast paced, and exciting lab environment. In this role, you will be expected to establishing and maintaining SOPs; training and scheduling staff and students; managing inventories (reagents, gases, consumables), purchasing and vendor relationships; coordinating service contracts, anaerobic chambers, CO₂ incubators, -80 °C freezers, and autoclaves; overseeing media preparation and sterile technique; maintaining bacterial and fungal culture collections; and ensuring EH&S/IBC compliance (chemical tracking, waste streams, incident logs, and safety drills). Additional responsibilities include receiving and processing human capsule-derived samples. Familiarity with microbial cultivation and molecular biology (e.g., nucleic acid isolation from cellular samples) is strongly desired but not required. Responsibilities Core Duties: Independently conduct a portion of the research project(s). Make recommendations on experimental design and/or research direction to principal investigator.Independently conduct complex (lab and/or field) experiments to gather data for a portion of a major research project.Interpret and analyze results, often where few guidelines exist, and make modifications to existing procedures and protocols.Develop new research protocols where appropriate protocols are not described in the literature or where modification or adaptation of standard procedures and protocols is required.Participate in multidisciplinary teams across different faculties or schools.Perform ongoing literature review to remain current with new procedures and related research; apply to ongoing research and development of new protocols.Contribute substantively to the preparation of papers for publication, especially in the results section, and to publication of findings. Present ongoing work to colleagues and/or academic conferences.Oversee supply and equipment budget under supervision of principal investigator or business manager.Work with health and safety department to ensure lab complies with regulations and all required trainings.Supervise (either formally or informally) staff or students as needed, including oversight and direction on techniques, as well as consultation on project work. Serve as a technical resource for other research staff.Oversee the daily activities of the laboratory including lab maintenance; maintain lab stock, manage chemical inventory and safety records, and provide general lab support as needed. May assist with purchasing laboratory equipment. Minimum Education And Experience Bachelor's degree in related scientific field and two years of relevant work experience; or Master’s degree in a related scientific field. Knowledge, Skills And Abilities Comprehensive understanding of scientific principles.General computer skills and ability to quickly learn and master computer programs, databases, and scientific applications.Strong analytical skills and excellent judgment.Ability to maintain detailed records of experiments and outcomes.Ability to work under deadlines with general guidance is essential.Excellent organizational skills and demonstrated ability to accurately complete detailed work.