Senior Animal Specialist - Center for Discoverr & Innovation

About the role

The Center for Discovery and Innovation- CDI was established by Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) as an academic basic and translational research enterprise to rapidly translate science innovation to the clinic and to improve outcomes for patients with cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune disease and other acute and chronic diseases.  The CDI has grown rapidly since its origins in 2019, and now has 39 labs, 200+ scientists and allied personnel supported by 78 NIH and DoD grants and more than 87 other grants and contracts. Areas of expertise include genomics, epigenetics, drug resistance, stem cell biology, drug discovery, diagnostics and biomarker development, rheumatology and pharmacology.

The Senior Animal Technician Specialist will be responsible for the conduct of highly specialized and technically complex experiments using small animal models (rodents and rabbits) of infection with various bio-safety level 2 and 3 pathogens and providing technical support for the BSL-3 Labs. Studies will be carried out in Animal Biosafety Level 2 (ABSL-2) and Animal Biosafety Level 3 (ABSL-3) facilities and focus on infections via aerosol, intranasal, intraperitoneal, intravenous intradermal and subcutaneous routes; intraperitoneal, intramuscular, subcutaneous and intravenous injections of rodents and other small animals with therapeutics and/or anesthesia; necropsy to isolate the organs; evaluate tissue burdens; isolation of single cell suspension from infected tissue.

Qualifications

Education, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant science.
• Experience in infectious diseases.
• Comprehensive knowledge in Microbiology, Immunology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.
• Excellent organization and record-keeping skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills are critical.
• All candidates must enroll and be given clearance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Criminal Justice Information Services Division (CJIS) Security Risk Assessment.
• Must retain clearance to work with HHS Tier 1 Select Agents and be enrolled in the Select Agent Program Personnel Reliability Program.

Education, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Preferred:

• CDC approved for work with select agents.
• Minimum of 4 years of experience in work with animal infection models under Biosafety level 3 containment.

Licenses and Certifications Preferred:

• American Association for Laboratory Animal Science Management Certification.

If you feel that the above description speaks directly to your strengths and capabilities, then please apply today!