O'Connor Lab Scientist

Job Summary

We are seeking a PhD-level Scientist to join the O'Connor Lab's environmental surveillance team and lead a new study conducted in collaboration with the laboratory of Dr. Jonathan Temte, founder of the Oregon Child Absenteeism due to Respiratory Disease Study (ORCHARDS) program at UW–Madison. ORCHARDS investigates the causes of child absenteeism from school, and the addition of household air sampling provides a new window onto respiratory viral transmission within the home. During the 2026–2027 school year, paired clinical swab and air samples will be collected from participants with respiratory viral infections across up to 200 households and delivered to our laboratory for intake, processing, sequencing, and analysis.

The successful candidate will serve as the scientific and project management lead for the study. Responsibilities include coordinating and executing sample processing for both clinical swabs and air samples, running downstream molecular biology assays, and analyzing data to identify the respiratory pathogens present in each participating household. A central technical responsibility is the design, optimization, and validation, from scratch, of digital PCR (dPCR) assays to quantify pathogen nucleic acids in air and clinical samples across each household's 8-day study window.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Develops, optimizes, and validates novel molecular biology assays from scratch including digital PCR (dPCR) assays
• Manages day-to-day operations of the HouseholdPath study
• Designs and maintains quality control, data tracking, and reporting systems
• Collects and analyzes research data
• Partners with external collaborators to co-develop improved techniques
• Writes or assists in developing grant applications