Research Lab Specialist Senior

About the Role

The Research Laboratory Specialist Senior will serve as the core operational, medical, and regulatory anchor for a large animal lab within Biomedical Engineering. This role oversees a small NHP colony, runs precursor-to-GLP sheep and pig studies, ensures strict compliance across regulatory bodies (USDA, IACUC, IBC, EHS), and manages controlled substance compliance. The position also involves writing comprehensive IACUC protocols, leading pre- and post-operative care for surgeries, training PhD students and assistants, and handling lab administration including supply logistics and financial forecasting.

Responsibilities

• Nonhuman Primate Colony Management
  • Manage a small NHP colony, including day-to-day medical needs and coordination with veterinarians.
  • Maintain detailed documentation of weight, food and water consumption, general hours, and medical care.
  • Train new NHP for poling, chairing, and acclimatization to handling with junior assistants.
  • Develop and adapt personalized training plans for individual NHP.
• Regulatory
  • Monitor and ensure compliance with USDA, IACUC, IBC, EHS, and controlled substance protocols.
  • Serve as the primary contact for regulatory inspections.
  • Manage controlled drugs compliance under the PI’s license.
  • Run precursor-to-GLP sheep and pig studies, monitoring animal health and coordinating with the pathology core.
  • Write and edit full IACUC protocols for NHP, sheep, and pig, often for PIs new to large animal research.
  • Train lab members in safety procedures, including PPE, chemical safety, fire safety, and biosafety.
  • Write and update SOPs for lab procedures.
• Medical
  • Lead approximately 1-2 NHP surgeries per year and 1 sheep or pig surgery monthly.
  • Oversee pre-operative setup and post-operative recovery, including anesthetic induction, intubation, intraoperative sensor placement, vitals monitoring, and recovery.
  • Administer medications via all routes (e.g., IV) in NHP and other large animals.
  • Develop and fabricate novel methods for experimental procedures and improve existing techniques.
  • Assist PhD students with medical procedures, including ultrasound-guided nerve blocks.
  • Serve as the primary liaison for PIs conducting large animal experiments without their own lab.
• Management
  • Supervise and train PhD students and lab staff on equipment operation, procedures, and techniques.
  • Demonstrate technology and equipment capabilities, operations, and limitations.
  • Directly manage and teach veterinary procedures to assistants, often pre-veterinary students.
  • Assign and oversee lab service tasks.
• Administrative
  • Organize lab supplies and associated finances.
  • Order and monitor lab supplies using spreadsheets to ensure critical items are in stock.
  • Maintain financial forecasting spreadsheets for personnel funding across multiple grants.
  • Meet regularly with the research administrator for post-award management.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree and over 15 years of experience working with large animals in a laboratory setting, with at least half of that time independently managing an NHP lab.
• 10+ years of experience working with awake NHP, including training animals from scratch for pole and collar handling.
• Experience training inexperienced personnel to handle NHP.
• Served as the primary contact for a lab during USDA, IACUC, IBC, EHS, and controlled substance inspections for at least 5 years.
• Substantial experience writing and establishing SOPs for a large animal lab.
• Independently written full IACUC protocols to assist PIs.
• Assisted PIs with no prior large animal experience in obtaining protocol approvals and data collection.
• At least 3 years of experience working with large animals in a GLP facility.
• Proficient in ultrasound-guided nerve blocks and all methods of drug delivery in large animals, including awake IV.
• Can independently or with junior assistance complete pre-operative setup, including anesthetic induction, intubation, vitals sensor placement, and monitoring.
• Experienced in animal recovery and post-operative monitoring.
• Trained and supervised junior assistants on medical procedures involving large animals.
• Skilled in using internal financial spreadsheets for lab purchasing and financial projections.
• Served as the primary day-to-day contact for a research administrator monitoring accounts.

Benefits

• Generous time off.
• A retirement plan with two-for-one matching contributions and immediate vesting.
• Comprehensive health insurance options.
• Life insurance.
• Long-term disability coverage.
• Flexible spending accounts for healthcare and dependent care expenses.
• Maternity and Parental Leave.

Schedule

This is an onsite position requiring 5 days per week.