Postdoctoral Research Associate : Seattle, WA, United States

Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) is an international leader in immune system and autoimmune disease research based in Seattle, WA, USA. BRI now houses more than 275 scientific and administrative staff with a research volume of more than $59 million a year, including grants from the National Institutes of Health, JDRF, FARE, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

BRI also leads the Immune Tolerance Network (ITN,) a collaborative network for clinical research focused on the development of therapeutic approaches to achieving immune tolerance in asthma and allergy, treatment of autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, and solid organ transplantation.

Position #: 2015-1233
Title: Postdoctoral Research Associate 
Department: Kwok Lab 
Status: Full time 
Responsibilities: 
• Will lead experiments to characterize the cellular and molecular changes on human antigen-specific CD4+ T cells during current clinical trials within the context of the development of new immunotherapy and biomarkers for application in allergy.
• Will lead experiments to characterize the cellular and molecular changes on human antigen-specific CD4+ T cells after vaccination or infection.
• Will carry out bench work experiments, including RNAseq, and be responsible for checking and validating the results in each field of activity.
• Will implement adequate experimental protocols and, if necessary, the experiments required to solve the possible technical problems within study deadlines. 
• Will present results or summary of results to the project team or to other audiences as needed
• Will write required documents such as experimental procedures, research articles and study reports.
• Provide oversight/ supervision of technicians or graduate students within the context of these studies.

Qualifications: 
• PhD Degree in a scientific discipline (Cell Biology, Immunology, or equivalent). 
• Knowledge in cellular immunology with less than 4 years of postdoctoral experience.
• Specific specialization on human T and/or B cell immunology is required. Previous experience with MHCtetramer staining, RNAseq, or knowledge in bioinformatics is a plus.
• Significant experience in multi-parameter flow cytometry, and in design/set up of cell based assays. 
• Additional expertise in other laboratory techniques related to molecular biology and biochemistry research will also be considered. 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with good organizational and analytical abilities.