This is a full-time/non-exempt term position lasting six months to one year.

JOB SUMMARY:

This is a full-time, term (up to 12 months) position in the Orthopaedics Biomechanics Lab. A Research Assistant III is sought to work on multiple pre-clinical and clinical projects. The person will handle animals, harvest tissue, acquire in vivo and ex vivo images (DXA, high-resolution QCT, fluorescence and bioluminescence imaging), assess numerous characteristics of bone (Raman spectroscopy, 1H NMR relaxometry, mechanical testing, HPLC), and run custom computer algorithms to process data.

Applicants should desire to work as part of a collaborative research team and possess excellent written and oral communication skills as they will recruit and enroll subjects, interact with biologists, engineers, surgeons, and clinicians, and help write scientific manuscripts.

Department/Unit Summary:

Our Division of Orthopaedic Trauma provides immediate and ongoing care for patients with traumatic injuries -- treating more than 4,500 adults and children each year at our Level I trauma center, many with multiple injuries.

Our high-volume program provides excellent opportunities for training residents and fellows. Our program is designed to teach you to quickly assess patients and provide effective emergency care, from delivering today's most advanced and promising surgical treatments to helping patients and their families know what to expect and how to adjust before, during and after treatment.

View how Vanderbilt Health employees celebrate the difference they make every day:

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:

Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded and your abilities challenged. It is a place where your diversity -- of culture, thinking, learning and leading -- is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt's mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Under minimal supervision, plan, conduct and evaluate experiments and assays of varying complexity.
• Plan and coordinate experiments in conjunction with Principal Investigator (PI).
• Understand and follow experimental protocols (may include animal handling, tissue culture, etc.)
• Record, compile, interpret, and communicate data/results.
• Follow University safety protocols (may include use of combustibles, radioactivity, toxic material, and/or carcinogens)
• Perform calculations involving molarity, % solutions, and serial dilutions.
• Prepare, operate and troubleshoot equipment in experimental procedures.
• Recommend equipment and supplies needed for research projects.
• Read and follow all equipment manuals.
• Maintain and repair equipment according to manufacturer and university guidelines.
• Ensure laboratory is prepared for experiments.
• Maintain inventories.
• Maintain sterile conditions as required.
• Prepare reagents.
• Assist PI in modifying procedures and techniques.
• Recognize problems and suggest solutions, assist in modifications.
• Recommend improvements to established techniques and/or protocols.
• Maintain personal knowledge of scientific trends through literature reviews, attendance at meetings, conferences and seminars.
• Provide appropriate written/oral documentation of experiments
• Prepare research progress reports.
• Analyze and summarize test results.
• Preparation and oral presentation of data as required Assist in the effective operation of the laboratory.
• Train other employees.
• Supervise projects and/or personnel.

NOTE:

A Term position is a staff position that exists for a period longer than six months but is not expected to last beyond one year. Although a position may exist for a specified or indefinite period, staff who accept term positions are not guaranteed employment for the entire period; they are employed for indefinite periods within the limit of the appointment. There are no guarantees of continued employment, either within the term or when the term ends.