Neural Cell Tissue Culture Lab Support

The EPA National Student Services Contract has an immediate opening for a full time Neural Cell Tissue Culture Lab Support position with the Office of Research and Development at the EPA facility in Research Triangle Park, NC.

The Office of Research and Development at the EPA supports high-quality research to improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help EPA achieve its environmental goals. Research is conducted in a broad range of environmental areas by scientists in EPA laboratories and at universities across the country.

What the EPA project is about

The Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure (CCTE) provides the science needed to understand the complex interrelationship between exposure to compounds and their effects on health in support of assessments and policy to protect human health and ecological integrity. In particular, CCTE focuses on the application of higher throughput, computational and predictive New Alternative Methods (NAMs) Within CCTE, the Biomolecular Toxicology Division (BCTD) focuses on the development of rapid methods for assessing toxicity, including in vitro methods that allow for assessment of large numbers of compounds to provide a biological basis for decision-making that will assure chemical safety and sustainability.

As part of their mission, BCTD supports EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment by developing and applying innovations in hazard characterization. Specifically, BCTD has developed a battery of in vitro NAMs that are aimed at providing a more rapid, economical, and biologically based approach to characterization of developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) hazard. BCTD has and continues to collaborate with other organizations interested in developing and using these approaches, including the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the National Toxicology Program (NTP) at the US National Institutes for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Currently, BCTD is collaborating with NTP under an interagency agreement to test a library of not more than 100 compounds in the US EPA DNT-NAMs battery.

As a team member, you will provide laboratory support, data collection and data analysis to support the testing of compounds in the US EPA DNT-NAMs battery.

Laboratory support responsibilities will include:

General laboratory cleanliness and maintenance
• Preparation of media, buffer and other solutions
• Maintenance of cell culture incubators and associated equipment
• Aseptic maintenance of neural cell cultures, including
• Changing media in active cultures
• Autoclaving and sterilizing glassware and water
• Strictly following Standard Operating Procedures and adhere to all Center safety, quality assurance and other policies and instructions
• Maintain equipment and assist in ordering laboratory supplies
• Other duties as needed to support laboratory function.

Data collection responsibilities will include:

• Participating as a member of a multi-disciplinary research team
• Interacting with other members of the development team as well as EPA scientists
• Conducting assays for cell viability
• Conducting DNT-NAMs assays as training permits
• Accurate and reliable record keeping including database management, batch records, notebooks, and all pertinent documentation.

Data analysis responsibilities will include:

• Conducting initial analyses of collected data to prepare for pipelining through the ToxCast Pipeline (tcpl)
• Meticulously documenting all code, methods, and other manipulations of the data
• Presenting work performed at appropriate venues (lab meetings, branch or divisional meetings, scientific meetings) as appropriate and required.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

• Demonstrated education and/or experience in mammalian, especially neural cell tissue culture, aseptic technique, measuring cell viability, data compilation and analysis;
• Demonstrated ability to follow explicit instructions without deviation;
• Demonstrated thoroughness in accomplishing a task through concern for all the areas involved, no matter how small. For example, they monitor and check work or information for completeness and accuracy;
• Demonstrated ability to plan and organize time and resources efficiently;
• Strong written, oral, and electronic communication skills;
• Experience with Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint; and
• Experience using basic laboratory equipment (e.g. pH meter, electronic balances, etc) and carrying out routine laboratory tasks.

Desired Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

• Experience in using Python, R or other scripting languages.

Location: This job will be located EPA's facility in Research Triangle Park, NC.

Salary: Selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU and will receive an hourly wage of $23.84 for hours worked.

Hours: Full-time.

Travel: Overnight travel is permitted if required, but it is expected that overnight travel will only occur infrequently, if at all.

Expected start date: The position is full time and expected to begin September 2024. The selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU working as a contractor to EPA.

For more information, contact EPANSSC@orau.org. Do not contact EPA directly.

• Be at least 18 years of age and
• Have earned at least a Bachelor's degree in the field of biology, chemistry, microbiology, physiology, neuroscience or a related field from an accredited university or college within the last 24 months and
• Be a citizen of the United States of America or a Legal Permanent Resident.

EPA ORD employees, their spouses, and children are not eligible to participate in this program.