Immunologist

The Alaka`ina Foundation Family of Companies (FOCs) is looking for an Immunologist to support our government customer located in Ft. Detrick, Maryland.

The Immunologist will provide leadership support services for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Disease (NIAID)/Division of Clinical Research (DCR)/Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick (IRF-Frederick), located in Frederick, Maryland. The individual selected will serve as a subject matter expert for all aspects of immunology at the IRF.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Serve as senior immunology advisor and vertebrate immunology Subject Matter Expert (SME) for proposed research, ongoing projects, collaborative partnerships, and publication/report reviews.
• Builds, maintains, and works with leadership and within a team on collaborator-owned projects; cultivates a constructive and highly productive synergistic teams-within-teams environment.
• Advises leadership on important advances in immunology theories and practices.
• In conjunction with leadership, introduces state-of-the-art ideas and methods to enhance the immunological capabilities of the IRF.
• In collaboration with leadership develops and/or supervises the development of traditional immunological assays to support the needs of new or ongoing research programs involving in vivo, ex vivo, in situ, and in vitro test systems.
• Develops novel immunological assays and approaches to support cutting-edge in vivo and human immunological research.
• Reviews literature regularly to maintain knowledge of evolving immunological methods, techniques, and scientific and technological advances, in particular pertaining to new-frontier research areas. Maintains ad hoc knowledge on immunological differences between vertebrates of different species of interest to the facility.
• On request, provide recommendations to government and/or contract leadership regarding instrumentation or other gaps that need to be filled to keep the IRF-Frederick competitive.
• Routinely performs assay optimization and robustness characterizations for high-throughput analysis of a wide variety of in vivo and in vitro studies involving high-consequence pathogens.
• Efficiently plans, executes, and reports scientific activities conducted in accordance with government and leadership directives.
• Actively participates in practices/processes to continuously enhance data quality, integrity, and assurance including periodic development and/or review of study execution methods, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to identify and close gaps and refine procedures in line with top tier journal expectations.
• Develops, implements, and participates in training and cross-training programs to assure continuity of operations and scientific core activities.
• Complies with the NIH Division of Occupational Health and Safety requirement for satisfactory completion of the Biosurety program and Select Agent program.
• Publishes results in peer-reviewed, ideally high impact, national and international journals.
• Communicates progress or problems with approved programs and projects to IRF-Frederick contract and government leadership in the form of oral and written progress reports.
• Plays a role in ensuring that the biosurety program promotes a security conscious culture.
• Complies with the physical security, protection of the division’s property, protection of information, cyber security, agent protection, control and accountability, safe disposal and waste handling, and personal security guidelines set forth by the division’s Biosurety program.
• Other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED DEGREE/EDUCATION/CERTIFICATION:

Minimum of a Ph.D., M.D., D.V.M or equivalent degree in Immunology or a related field from an accredited college or university with postdoctoral research emphasis in comparative vertebrate immunology.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• 5-8 years of specialized training and research experience in infectious-disease immunology in any of the following areas:
  
  • Virology
  • Immunopathology, Clinical Immunology, Classical Immunology and/or Comparative Immunology
• Strong background in assay development and optimization.
• At least 5 years current experience working in a BSL-3 or BSL-4 laboratory, with BSL-4 experience preferred.
• Excellent communication skills with Team members and rapport with leadership
• Ability to guide technical support staff in a highly team-oriented workplace. 
• Strong publication record.
• Must be able to obtain/maintain DoJ Security Risk Assessment (SRA) approval.
• Must be willing to participate in periodic drug screening.
• Must have the ability to obtain/maintain certification in Chemical Personnel Reliability Program and/or Biological Personnel Reliability Program.
• Must have the ability to obtain/maintain CDC Select Agent Program approval.
• Must work under BSL-2, BSL-3, and in particular BSL-4 conditions. Able to wear respiratory protection. 

DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Experience with viral Select Agents is desired, but not required.
• Experience with models of viral infectious diseases.
• Proficiency in FlowJo, FACSDiva, GraphPad Prism, and Endnote.
• Basic understanding of laboratory information management systems (LIMS).
• Interpersonal, oral and written communication, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently, design experiments, and analyze, summarize, and present data.

REQUIRED CITIZENSHIP AND CLEARANCE:

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident.
• Individual must be able to meet the requirements for T3 level investigation.

The Alaka`ina Foundation Family of Companies (FOCs) is a fast-growing government service provider. Employees enjoy competitive salaries. Eligible employees enjoy a 401K plan with company match; medical, dental, disability, and life insurance coverage; tuition reimbursement; paid time off; and 11 paid holidays.

We are an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. We are proud to state that we do not discriminate in employment decisions based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status. If you are a person with a disability and you need an accommodation during the application process, please click here to request accommodation. We E-Verify all employees.

The Alaka`ina Foundation Family of Companies (FOCs) is comprised of industry-recognized government service firms designated as Native Hawaiian Organization (NHO)-owned and 8(a) certified businesses. The Family of Companies (FOCs) includes Ke`aki Technologies, Laulima Government Solutions, Kūpono Government Services, and Kapili Services, Po`okela Solutions, Kīkaha Solutions, LLC, and Pololei Solutions, LLC. Alaka`ina Foundation activities principally benefit the youth of Hawaii through charitable efforts which includes providing innovative educational programs that combine leadership, science & technology, and environmental stewardship. 

For additional information, please visit www.alakainafoundation.com

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