Wet Lab Manager - 138615

The Department of Pediatrics is one of the largest departments within the School of Medicine with approximately 250 Faculty, 127 postdoctoral fellows (both MDs and PhDs) along with over 320 support staff (not including hospital staff). In addition, the Department has 68 clinical residents distributed across the Divisions. The missions of research, education and patient care are intertwined, and are integral to the goals of the department. The Department manages a university-affiliated children's health system with the physicians and leadership of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Rady Children's Hospital, and Rady Children's Specialists of San Diego, a Medical Practice Foundation, unifying pediatric patient care, research, education and community service programs.

The Knight lab is a world-leading lab in microbiome science, consisting of a team of ~40 highly skilled researchers, students and technicians, with an annual operating budget of ~$4 million derived from a mixture of federal and non-federal sources including Knight's NIH Pioneer Award and the All of Us program. Most of the lab's work focuses on technologies for reading out microbial communities, including laboratory procedures for next- generation sequencing and bioinformatics software development. This includes applications in the human microbiome and child development, conservation, environmental monitoring and management, and biofuels. The Knight lab publishes regularly in top journals including Science, Nature, Cell, and PNAS, producing dozens of journal articles per year overall. The Department of Pediatrics is one of the largest departments within the School of Medicine with ~200 faculty, an annual budget of >$100 million, and unified pediatric patient care, research, education and community service programs, including a university- affiliated children's health system to serve the region. The Department is recognized as having global leaders in research, technology, translational medicine, education and clinical excellence.

Serving as Wet Lab Manager, the incumbent maintains the day to day operations of the Knight wet lab while working in close cooperation with postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, laboratory technicians and collaborators from UCSD and around the world. This position provides leadership and work direction to research staff and other personnel associated with the interdisciplinary research of the project.

Under the general direction of the Principal Investigator (PI), the Wet Lab Manager will ensure that the wet lab produces high quality data rapidly and at scale. They will supervise wet lab staff and delegate sequencing projects to team members to ensure sequencing data is generated in an error-free and timely manner. The Wet Lab Manager will serve as a point of contact for sample receipt with collaborators to ensure proper pre-sample receipt requirements are being adhered to before sample shipping, as well as ensuring samples arrive at the lab as expected and are stored safely. The Wet Lab Manager will ensure that all safety regulations are being adhered to within the laboratory and that all staff are following proper safety protocols, including but not limited to fire risk safety, biohazards, and waste management. They will serve as an Area Safety Coordinator in the wet lab and will work closely with EH&S during audits, and ensure that the proper information is communicated and documentation is completed when new protocols are introduced in the lab. They will ensure equipment integrity by maintaining laboratory equipment service agreement contracts, monitoring freezers, coordinating equipment repairs, and working with equipment vendors directly. They will make sure that proper equipment documentation is maintained accurately. The incumbent will take inventory of laboratory supplies and order supplies in a timely manner to guarantee that consistent work output is not interrupted. They will obtain quotes from vendors and track expenses for supply ordering and sequencing charges.The Wet Lab Manager will cultivate a good team environment within the wet lab, and ensure that effective communication is being maintained between the wet lab and other areas of the lab. They will maintain good relationships with collaborators and vendors, serving as one of the main points of contact for external communications.

Under the general direction of the Principal Investigator (PI), the incumbent will serve as a critical member of the research team by contributing to the development of plans for the research designs and methods that include making important original contributions pertaining to intervention development and implementation. They will contribute original ideas of major methodological significance on research direction and data interpretation. The incumbent will work independently on the development, execution and overall management of projects focusing on experiments in support of microbiological research studies, and participate in the preparation of manuscripts and scientific articles suitable for publication in scientific journals, including editing technical sections of manuscripts as requested.

• Seven years of related experience, education/training, OR a Bachelor's degree in related area plus three years of related experience/training.

• Three years of previous lab management experience.

• Focus of knowledge and skills dependent on area of specialty (laboratory research or instructional / experimental design). Advanced and highly specific knowledge and expertise associated with conducting and reporting on scientific research experiments and findings.

• Advanced knowledge of a limited variety of specialized laboratory equipment. Experience with purchasing and maintaining equipment service contracts, repairs, troubleshooting, and record keeping.

• Leadership skills associated with planning work assignments, establishing priorities and scheduling instructional space. Experience with delegating tasks.

• Solid interpersonal skills to develop and maintain effective working relationships with students, faculty and staff. Ability to curate a positive working environment within the wetlab.

• Advanced knowledge of research discipline or instructional design to collaborate effectively with faculty and function as a resource to research and instructional associates.

• Solid interpersonal communication skills to effectively supervise staff.

• Ability to conduct and report on scientific experiments and findings.

• Knowledge of necessary lab safety procedures and requirements, as well as chemical disposal guidelines. Experience with Environmental Health & Safety related audits is a plus.

• Strong problem solving and critical thinking skills in order to troubleshoot and optimize pipelines and equipment.

• Working knowledge of taking inventory of laboratory items and use of ordering supplies.

• Experience with updating vendor warranties, service agreements, and equipment maintenance. Experience with handling repairs in a timely manner.

• Extensive experience with standard lab equipment: fume & biosafety hoods, balances, pipettes, centrifuges with experience in aseptic technique.

• Advanced degree.

• Knowledge of data acquisition and analysis techniques.

• Comprehensive understanding of NGS protocols, technologies, and molecular processes with an ability to bring new ideas for technological developments.

• Thorough understanding of the molecular workings of DNA extraction and PCR in terms of metagenomic and amplicon sequencing.

• Employment is subject to a criminal background check.

• Occasional evenings and weekends may be required.

• Must be willing to work with hazardous materials.

If employed by the University of California, you will be required to comply with our Policy on Vaccination Programs, which may be amended or revised from time to time. Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.

If applicable, life-support certifications (BLS, NRP, ACLS, etc.) must include hands-on practice and in-person skills assessment; online-only certification is not acceptable.

UC San Diego Health Sciences is comprised of our School of Medicine, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, and our Student Health and Well-Being Department. We have long been at the forefront of translational - or "bench-to-bedside" - research, transforming patient care through discovery and innovation leading to new drugs and technologies. Translational research is carried out every day in the hundreds of clinical trials of promising new therapies offered through UC San Diego Health, and in the drive of our researchers and clinician-scientists who are committed to having a significant impact on patient care. We invite you to join our team!

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Misconduct Disclosure Requirement: As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts an offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of substantiated misconduct with a previous employer.

a. "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, or discrimination, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
• Abusive Conduct in the Workplace