Director - Molecular Core | Dept. of Internal Medicine - Stravitz-Sanyal Institute | F74620 | SOM

Mission or Goal of Unit: The Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health is revolutionary by design. By connecting research, education and care, we uncover life-changing breakthroughs and help them reach patients sooner. Our mission is to promote liver learning and translation of scientific discovery to improve liver-related health by radical innovation and integration of education, research, technology and clinical care.

Chief Purpose of this position: The Division of GI & Hepatology in partnership with the Stravitz-Sanyal Liver Institute (SSLI) is seeking a Senior Research Scientist that will also act as the Director of the Molecular Core for SSLI. The Molecular Core Director will work collaboratively with the Director of the Biorepository and SSLI IT team for seamless integration of molecular core and biorepository activities as well as oversee, design and perform molecular biology studies for all approved SSLI research projects.

Employees working in or with VCU Health in any capacity will be required to comply with all relevant health system policies and procedures, including the health system's vaccination requirements.

Position Responsibilities:

Teaching

• Oversee training of staff and trainees in molecular biology methods.

Research

• Oversee Molecular Biology procedures (real time PCR, Digital PCR, Western blots, Nanodrop, Transfections etc.)
• Working with Tissue Core on spatial transcriptomics
• Oversee use of Molecular Biology equipment
• Work with VCU and Massey Cores to assist SSLI members to get access and support the Director of Tissue Core and Biorepository
• Ensure timeliness of molecular studies and to meet milestones established at beginning of each project
• Develop and maintain a charge master for use of molecular core for different tiers of SSLI members and for grant development
• To oversee maintenance of equipment related to molecular studies
• To meet with SSLI members who need molecular biology services to facilitate protocol development and set up study implementation and use of core facilities
• To maintain record of utilization of equipment and services for molecular and link these to grant applications and grant funding obtained using these core facilities
• Design and Analysis of specific projects related to molecular biology and participate in the design team
• Design and work with SSLI Data Core Omics scientists to design studies using spatial transcriptomics, proteomics and single cell RNA seq
• Design and implement data flow from SSLI molecular core to bioinformatics team and vice versa
• Work with Biorepository and IT teams to ensure data integrity and storage of data in a secure manner
• Participate in meetings with external sponsors related to access to director’s projects and develop scope of work packages for review by the director and SSLI leadership and compliance prior to approval for sharing
• To generate reports for external entities and leadership on status of specific projects as needed
• Develop, maintain and update standard molecular biological procedural protocols for Institute members to use in their research. These will be posted on the SSLI Wiki for internal use
• Verification of the utility and quality of research reagents and equipment used for molecular biological studies
• Develop new molecular biological protocols that become available for cell and molecular biological work as requested by SSLI members and approved by the CSO
• Provide monthly (or quarterly) reports of activities, trainings, new equipment requests, concerns and new ideas for studies/techniques to the CSO

Required Qualifications:

• Candidates must have a PhD degree in Molecular Biology or related field, with postgraduate or postdoctoral training and research experience
• The candidate must have published in peer reviewed journals and/or have patent applications
• 15 + years of extensive experience on cell metabolism as it relates to liver health and liver disease
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment or commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with the submission and review of NIH funded grants is preferred