This position serves as Without Compensation Researcher within the Research and Development (R&D) Service of the Madison VHA. The VA Research Program strives to promote Veteran-centered care to improve patient experiences and outcomes across VA healthcare and community settings, and to advance value-driven care by providing Veterans the highest quality care at the lowest financial burden. Please note, there is not pay associated with this position. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. Graduate of an accredited university with a Doctor of Philosophy Degree. Physical Requirements: This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking, standing, and sitting. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. Must comply with any Employee Health requirements as a condition of employment. In the performance of duties, the incumbent may be required to drive and/or ride in GSA-vehicles.Education Requirement: Ph.D. required in Neurobiology or related discipline required with additional expertise in Gerontology or Systems Biology viewed favorably. The research includes neuroanatomy, in vivo imaging, primary culture of brain derived cells, live imaging, co-culture based assay, molecular biology techniques like PCR, and high end-microscopy knowledge. Experience handling either molecular profiling data sets (transcriptome, proteome, etc.) or microscopy-based imaging will be advantageous although training in this area will be provided. Training in biochemistry and/or a working knowledge of metabolism. The candidate must have a proven academic publication track record, including first-author publications. Previous experience instructing and/or mentoring undergraduate and graduate students is also expected. ["The successful candidate will conduct research on Musculoskeletal Metabolism within the Konopka laboratory. The Konopka laboratory is translational research laboratory focused on skeletal muscle and joint health. The position requires a PhD degree level training with experience in research on skeletal muscle, cartilage, and/or meniscus biology and metabolism. The work will investigate the contribution of mTOR signaling on osteoarthritis. The successful candidate will lead this research project, including the use of molecular biology and histopathological techniques. Principal duties include: Perform animal experiments that model osteoarthritis in Veterans, wet-laboratory assays (western blotting, RNA sequencing, spatial-omics, etc.), and tissue culture."]

Return to Search Results