The Dog Aging Project at the University of Washington currently has an outstanding opportunity for a RESEARCH SCIENTIST ENGINEER 1 to assist with our exploration of the epigenetic basis for aging in companion dogs. 

Our goal is to understand how chromatin accessibility changes in dogs during the aging process, to define epigenetic loci that are altered during the aging process, and to establish an “epigenetic clock” for aging in companion dogs. To this end, we seek a member of our team to refine and implement a pipeline for collection of PBMCs from donated blood samples, quality control and flow cytometric analysis and sorting of these samples, isolation and transposition of chromatin, and preparation of ATAC-Seq libraries. 

We are seeking someone with a strong background in biology, strong lab skills in molecular and cell biology, and experience with chromatin biology, next-generation sequencing library preparation, and flow cytometry. Strong organizational skills are a must, as this project comprises potentially hundreds to thousands of samples. 

Responsibilities: 

The Research Scientist/Engineer 1 will: 

• Isolate PBMCs from donated blood samples. 
• Perform quality control analysis on white blood cells, including cell density and viability assessments. 
• Perform flow cytometric analysis and possible sorting. 
• Perform chromatin transposition (ATAC) on thawed whole or sorted cell samples. 
• Prepare ATAC-SEQ libraries for next-gen sequencing analysis. 
• Establish a robust and standardized pipeline for the above steps, including an efficient and well-organized workflow for numerous samples. 
• Contribute to regular meetings and one-on-one discussions about project design and progress. 

  Minimum Requirements: 

• Bachelor’s degree in cell and molecular biology or a related discipline and at least one year of research experience of cell biology in a lab setting. 

  Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration. 

  Other required qualifications include: 

• Practical understanding of the principles of epigenetics and genetic regulation 
• Very strong organizational skills. 
• Ability to learn and integrate new analysis methods. 
• Excellent oral and written communication skills. 
• Ability and enthusiasm for working independently, and also collaboratively as part of a team 

  Desired: 

• Flow cytometry experience 
• Next-gen sequencing library preparation experience on the Illumina platform. 
• Practical understanding of the cell biology of aging. 
• Broad experience with next-generation sequence analysis, including bwa, bowtie/tophat/cufflinks, DeSeq, MACS2, Galaxy, HOMER, or other standard next-gen software analysis software.