Research Associate

A global higher education leader in innovative teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consistently ranks as one of the nation's top public universities. Known for its beautiful campus, world-class medical care, commitment to the arts and top athletic programs, Carolina is an ideal place to teach, work and learn.

One of the best college towns and best places to live in the United States, Chapel Hill has diverse social, cultural, recreation and professional opportunities that span the campus and community.

University employees can choose from a wide range of professional training opportunities for career growth, skill development and lifelong learning and enjoy exclusive perks for numerous retail, restaurant and performing arts discounts, savings on local child care centers and special rates on select campus events. UNC-Chapel Hill offers full-time employees a comprehensive benefits package, paid leave, and a variety of health, life and retirement plans and additional programs that support a healthy work/life balance.

Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others whom we serve. We accomplish this by providing leadership and excellence in the interrelated areas of patient care, education and research.

Patient care: We promote health and provide superb clinical care while maintaining our strong tradition of reaching underserved populations and reducing health disparities across North Carolina and beyond.

Education: We prepare tomorrow`s healthcare professionals and biomedical researchers from all backgrounds by facilitating learning within innovative and integrated curricula and team-oriented interprofessional education to ensure a highly skilled workforce.

Research: We develop and support a rich array of outstanding health sciences research programs, centers and resources. We provide infrastructure and opportunities for collaboration among disciplines throughout and beyond our university to support outstanding research. We foster programs in the areas of basic, translational, mechanistic and population research.

The Research Associate will research the mechanisms of innate immune responses in the lungs to stimuli, including bacteria and tobacco smoke. The goal of these studies will be to understand the effect of bacterial and viral pathogens on the lungs and how the lungs protect themselves and other organs against these stimuli.

Relevant post-Baccalaureate degree required (or foreign degree equivalent); for candidates demonstrating comparable independent research productivity, will accept a relevant Bachelor's degree (or foreign degree equivalent) and 3 or more years of relevant experience in substitution. May require terminal degree and licensure.

Experience in writing manuscripts and grants is required. Must also possess strong organizational skills, as well as the ability to communicate effectively and work on multiple projects simultaneously.

Preferred qualifications include:
* Completion of a post-doctoral fellowship in lung pathobiology.
* Experience in Higher Education or University setting.
* Relevant publication & documenting expertise.
* Knowledge of leukocyte kinetics, particularly neutrophils, macrophage subpopulations and NK cells, is important.
* Expertise and a minimum of 3 years experience in:
1) Mouse models of lung disease, especially pneumonia and acute lung injury, including multi-parameter phenotyping of protein expression, leukocyte kinetics, cell function, lung physiology and bacterial clearance;
2) 3-laser flow cytometry of single cell digests of lungs and other organs using complex multi-fluorochrome labeling of multiple immune cell populations and functional activities and analysis of flow cytometric data, including experience with CytExpert and use of publicly accessible databases;
3) RNA isolation and quality evaluation, real time PCR, gene transcription profiling using gene and microRNA arrays of whole tissue and individual cell types, and bioinformatic analyses using at a minimum the GSEA, Cytoscape, DAVID Bioinformatics Resources and the Lung Cell Atlas.

The University is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all to apply without regard to age, color, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.