"Postdoctoral Fellow (PREP0003212)"

Job Details

Johns Hopkins, founded in 1876, is America's first research university and home to nine world-class academic divisions working together as one university.

Salary: $82,764 a year

Description

PREP Research Associate

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

Research Title:

Postdoc in Light-Scatter Microscopy of Gene Delivery Nanoparticles

The work will entail:

The Sensor Science Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) seeks an enthusiastic postdoctoral researcher to advance novel light-scattering interferometric microscopy techniques for comprehensive, single-particle-level analysis of gene therapy nanoparticles. The postdoc will work closely with a collaborative, multidisciplinary team of researchers to design, build, and model new optical microscopes to provide physical measurements (such as mass, size, concentration, composition) of individual gene delivery nanoparticles. These physical parameters are crucial to the development and optimization of gene delivery therapies. For additional details about this research, please visit our program website: https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/gene-delivery-particle-analysis-high-throughput-light-scattering-microscopy.

Salary starts at $82,764.

Interested candidates can reach out to Aaron Goldfain (aaron.goldfain@nist.gov) for more information.

Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Designing, improving, and using novel NIST-built laser-based light scattering microscopes for quantitative nanoparticle characterization.
• Building optical models of gene delivery nanoparticles and light-scattering microscopes.
• Conducting experimental investigations to validate instrument performance and characterize nanoparticle physical characteristics and heterogeneity.
• Collaborating with researchers to develop innovative algorithms for data analysis and interpretation.
• Collaborating with researchers to evaluate the impact of particle heterogeneity on gene delivery efficacy.
• Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at conferences and workshops.

Qualifications

• A PhD in Physics, Optics, Biophysics, or a related field.
• Less than 5 years of relevant post-PhD experience.
• Familiarity or experience with optical models of particle light scatter and/or optical instruments.
• Familiarity or experience with optical imaging and/or microscopy.
• Enthusiasm for learning new theoretical, computational, and experimental techniques.
• Programming experience with Python, MATLAB, or similar.

Application Instructions

Please upload the following with your application:

• CV/Resume
• 2 professional references

Please limit C.V to 3 pages only and ONLY include a valid email address for your contact info. Please DO NOT include telephone numbers, home address or photos on your resume.