Research Technician II - Frenkel Lab

Here at Seattle Children's we are united by a compelling mission: We provide hope, care and cures to help every child to live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. Seattle Children's Research Institute is among the top in National Institutes of Health funding - a sign that our physician-scientists are leaders in research that improves the outlook for children with a wide range of conditions.

Come join the Frenkel lab!

One of the projects the Frenkel lab is currently working on focuses on understanding the mechanisms that allow HIV to persist during effective ART treatment. Our laboratory has found that identical HIV sequences are found in the PBMC of ART treated individuals and that these identical sequences increase over time on ART, providing evidence that clonal proliferation of cells with provirus sustains HIV infection during ART.  Furthermore, these proviruses are found to be integrated into genes controlling immune function, the cell cycle or cancer, suggesting that interference with the expression of these genes allows the infected cells to proliferate and/or survive.  We are now interested to understand how integration of the proviruses into specific genes leads to specific phenotypic changes in the T cell that allow it to persist, if we can use these phenotypic changes to purify HIV-infected cells, and how these changes affect the HIV-specific immune response.  We are also interested in determining what the specificity of the HIV-infected cell is in individuals who started treatment early after infection.

This project requires above average dedication, attention to detail, strong T cell immunology experience, flow cytometry experience, ability to work independently; have sufficient experience to contribute to experiment optimization or trouble-shooting; and a desire to continually broaden knowledge base and skill set. The successful candidate should also expect to train undergraduate-level laboratory assistants and interns, as well as work closely with other lab personnel. The successful applicant will be fully integrated into ongoing projects and will be expected to design, execute and analyze experiments with appropriate supervision. Enthusiasm, self-motivation and initiative to learn new methods and to perform work efficiently and carefully are essential.

Key responsibilities:

• Perform all functions of Research Technician with minimal instruction and train laboratory assistants and junior technicians.
• Occasional processing of Leukapheresis material.
• Weekly set up of T cell assays
• Characterization of CD8+ T cell epitope responses by IFN-gamma ELISpot analysis.
• CD4+ and CD8+ T cell surface marker expression and intracellular cytokine analysis
• Development of new assays and flow cytometry panel design
• Review literature applicable to research projects
• Prepare weekly reports including data analysis, gathering, organizing, and maintaining data
• Attend seminars, consult vendors, and present at lab meetings
• Ability to work late occasionally as needed

• Bachelor’s Degree in related field such as immunology, cellular biology, pathobiology, or microbiology; May have Master’s degree
• 1 year experience as a research technician in a strong cell culture and cellular assay lab
• Experience with T cell cellular assays
• Experience with flow cytometry
• Basic mathematical, data recording, computer database, data and statistical analysis skills
• Proven talent to work independently with excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability and willingness to work with a diverse population

Preferred:

- Master’s degree in Biochemistry or Microbiology

- Familiarity with computers: Data entry, spreadsheets

- Experience in analyzing data using spreadsheets and statistical analysis of data