Research Specialist II - Touil Lab - Department of Neurology

Grow your career at Cedars-Sinai!

Cedars-Sinai offers a culture of happiness, passion, and dedication. This is one of the many reasons why we rank as one of the top hospitals in California and in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

Dr. Hanane Touil invites you to consider this outstanding opportunity with her team.

About the Team

The laboratory of Dr. Touil is part of the Department of Neurology and Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Dr. Touil leads a translational neuro-immunology research program that integrates rigorous functional neuro-immune assays with ground breaking computational approaches to investigate disease mechanisms underlying neuro-immunological disorders.

Her research focuses on Multiple Sclerosis (MS), compartmentalized inflammation within the central nervous system, and the molecular and cellular signatures of immunosenescence in both healthy aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Using deeply characterized human bio-specimens and advanced analytical methodologies. The laboratory seeks to identify biomarkers associated with prognosis, treatment response, and disease progression in order to advance early diagnosis and precision medicine strategies aimed at halting disease progression.

About the Role

The Research Specialist II applies a solid foundation in research and experience with techniques associated with a specific area of research. Incumbent will be capable of exercising independent judgment while leading and coordinating established research programs, project planning, enrollment of patients, experimental protocols and procedures, database development and analysis including evaluating and interpreting results. The incumbent will participate in and may lead and train lab activities including but not limited to: research grant management, human resources, responsibility delegation, and provide training to other individuals who may be assigned to the project, study, or laboratory. Will have delegated authority under the direction of the principal investigator to make substantive decisions and commitments in accordance with the established goals and objectives of the laboratory or program. Leads and trains on others on lab activities.

This role will support laboratory research projects in Neuro-immunology by performing immunologic, transcriptomics, and computational analyses, while contributing to the development and maintenance of a human fluid Biobank. The role involves handling and processing human bio-specimens, including blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), developing and implementing sample processing pipelines and databases, and conducting biomarker investigations using a multi-omics approach such as proteomics, spectral flow cytometry, and transcriptomics.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Applies scientific expertise to current and future projects while interacting with sponsors, collaborators, clinical research personnel and researchers as part of a research team.
• Takes initiative and acts as project lead under close direction of Principal Investigator.
• Participates in all aspects of clinical development and study management (protocol design, enrollment of patients, development and implementation of protocols, and if applicable, submission of IRB applications and approvals).
• Follows established procedures or protocols to perform increasingly complex laboratory tests and/or experiments. May act as point of escalation for laboratory staff.
• Prepares publications and presentations, writes and prepares grant proposals and coordinates application and submission process.
• Operates lab computers for data entry and maintains accurate data records for assigned research projects.
• Uses various software applications, such as spreadsheets, electronic mail, World Wide Web, statistical packages, and graphics packages to assemble, manipulate and/or format data and/or test reports.
• Operates appropriate laboratory equipment. Monitors inventory levels, orders materials and supplies.
• Acts as a scientific expert for the affiliated pre-clinical research laboratory (e.g., assisted with experimental designs, data analysis, interpretation of scientific literature).
• Identify and resolve increasingly complicated problems involved in research assays.
• Establishes and maintains relationships with clinical investigators and manages internal and external collaborative research projects.
• Exercises independent scientific judgment while leading and coordinating the planning of current and future experiments and evaluating and interpreting results.
• Will function as a bridge between research and clinical programs which may have local and national contributors and investigators relying on information provided.
• Maintains awareness and timely execution of progress reports required by sponsors, safety boards, and/or supervising teams when applicable.

Department-Specific Duties:

• Maintains accurate documentation of samples, procedures, and results.
• Processes and manages human bio-specimens (blood, serum, plasma, CSF).
• Supports development and maintenance of a bio-repository and associated sample tracking systems.
• Supports project design for discovery and validation of biomarkers.
• Performs basic data and computational analyses of research datasets, including proteomics, transcriptomics and flow cytometry.
• Designs and completes immunological, transcriptomics, and multi-omics experiments to elucidate cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurological and neuro-immune processes.
• Follows SOPs and laboratory safety standards.
• Supports general laboratory and departmental research activities including collaborations.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, or related field is required.
• Masters of Science, or Masters in Neuroscience, or Masters in Immunology, or Biomedical sciences and related fields is preferred.
• 5 years of experience in area of research specialty.
• Demonstrated understanding of general research objectives.
• Experience handling human bio-specimens, including blood, serum, plasma, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), among others. Experience with multi-omics approaches, including proteomics, transcriptomics, and functional immunology, is preferred.
• Familiarity with database management and basic data analysis is desirable.
• Strong wet-lab skills are required, with experience in neuroscience, neuro-immunology, or related biomedical fields considered an asset.
• Familiarity with computational environments including single cell RNA-Seq, Spectral flow cytometry, REDCap, SPSS and excel is preferred.