What we do here changes the world. UTHealth Houston is Texas’ resource for healthcare education, innovation, scientific discovery, and excellence in patient care. That’s where you come in.

UTHealth Houston’s Department of Pediatric Surgery is hiring for a Senior Research Associate to join their team of professionals. The ideal candidate will: have a strong background in molecular biology (PCR, RT-qPCR, Western blot, RNAseq, scRNAseq, IHC) with experience and/or interest in translational research, regenerative medicine, enteric nervous system, neurogastroenterology, intestinal biology, gastroenterology, developmental biology, and/or tissue-engineering; be experienced in aseptic cell culture techniques (experience with maintenance of hPSCs, generation and characterization of hPSCs, and/or directed differentiation of hPSCs into intestine or neural crest cells is preferred); be experienced with optical microscopy (brightfield and fluorescent), and confocal microscopy; and more. The candidate should be motivated and able to conduct independent research without supervision. Impeccable record keeping skills and outstanding organization are required. The ability to work in teams with good interpersonal skills and excellent communication is also important.

Location: 1881 East Road, Houston, Texas 77054

Once you join us you won't want to leave. It’s because we reward our team for the excellent service they provide. Our total rewards package includes the benefits you’d expect from a top healthcare organization (benefits, insurance, etc.), plus:

• 100% paid medical premiums for our full-time employees
• Generous time off (holidays, preventative leave day, both vacation and sick time – all of which equates to around 37-38 days per year)
• The longer you stay, the more vacation you’ll accrue!
• Longevity Pay (Monthly payments after two years of service)
• Build your future with our awesome retirement/pension plan!

We take care of our employees! As a world-renowned institution, our employees’ wellbeing is important to us. We offer work/life services such as...

• Free financial and legal counseling
• Free mental health counseling services
• Gym membership discounts and access to wellness programs
• Other employee discounts including entertainment, car rentals, cell phones, etc.
• Resources for child and elder care
• Plus many more!

Position Summary:

The Speer lab is seeking a full time Senior Research Associate. The Speer lab is focused on developing novel regenerative medicine strategies for intestinal failure such as tissue-engineered intestine and cell-based therapies. We currently utilize human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to generate human intestinal organoids (HIOs) for both in vitro and in vivo models to investigate the development and function of the enteric nervous system. Additionally, we are developing a cell-based therapy using hPSCs for enteric neuropathies. The Senior Research Associate would be a part of a dynamic and stimulating research community within the Program in Children’s Regenerative Medicine. There are 9 faculty and 14 research team members in non-clinical laboratory research. Faculty have been awarded over $15 million as Principal Investigators. The Senior Research Associate would work with and under the supervision of Dr. Speer and collaboratively with multidisciplinary investigators within the Program in Children's Regenerative Medicine as well as the Texas Medical Center Digestive Diseases Center on translational research projects related to tissue-engineering and regenerative medicine. The Program in Children's Regenerative Medicine has over 6,000 square feet of state of the art, fully equipped basic laboratory and tissue-engineering facilities as well as 4,000 square feet of cGMP laboratories for production of clinical grade cell and tissue-engineered products. Knowledge and expertise in intestinal biology, enteric nervous system biology, cell culture, animal husbandry (mice and rats), Ussing chambers, contractility/motility assays, advanced microscopy, and molecular biology is an advantage.

Position Key Accountabilities:

• Able to perform experiments independently, including molecular biology techniques such as PCR, RT-qPCR, Western blot, IHC, ELISA, and then interpret and analyze the data. Knowledge of RNAseq and scRNAseq including data analysis is a plus. Analysis will typically include human intestinal tissue including subpopulations such as the intestinal epithelia, mesenchyme, and enteric nervous system neurons and glia. This includes advanced microscopy and confocal microscopy.
• Performs all aspects of aseptic cell culture, including reagent stock and working solution preparation, hPSC freezing/thawing, hPSC maintenance, generation of human intestinal organoids and enteric neural crest cells from hPSCs, as well as inventory management and equipment maintenance.
• Perform experiments utilizing Ussing chamber and organ bath contractility apparatus.
• Care for all laboratory animals (mice and rats) including breeding, weaning, and perioperatively.
• Follows the laboratory’s SOPs for handling and processing, analyzing, reviewing and reporting data and maintaining records of all experimental results. Maintains accurate and timely research records to include notebooks, records, databases, etc.
• Assists with the development, optimization, and validation of new assays, procedures and SOPs according to regulatory requirements.
• Adheres to established turn-around-times while maintaining highest quality of experimental results and the most efficient use of resources.
• Works well with diverse and multidisciplinary teams and collaborators in various research activities that may include traditional laboratory experiments and activities, informatics, and/or animal laboratories. Makes independent decisions as required, which may impact research team or assigned project
• Monitors and maintains clean laboratory equipment and work area.
• Participates in continuing education programs, seminars, and workshops. May provided guidance and training of laboratory technicians, students, support staff and other assistants to ensure efficient, timely and high quality results. Expected to contribute to research publications, presentations, and funding applications.
• Attendings regular weekly laboratory meetings as well as other meetings with collaborators.
• Complies with all governmental and University policies, rules, regulation and codes.
• Performs other duties as assigned.