Research Assistant - ON SITE

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:  Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health is committed to an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your uniqueness is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization:

Hearing And Speech

Job Summary:

Job Title: Research Assistant (RA)
Location: Vanderbilt Wilson Hall, 111 21st Ave. S., Nashville, TN
Work Hours: Flexible 8-hour shift between 7:00 AM - 5:30 PM, Monday through Friday, with occasional overtime, including weekends and holidays.

Are you passionate about research and excited to contribute to groundbreaking studies in hearing and hearing loss? Join our team as a Research Assistant and play a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of auditory function in macaque monkeys!

Position Overview:
As a Research Assistant, you will be an integral part of our dynamic and collaborative team, supporting a project that investigates normal hearing and hearing loss in non-human primates. Your responsibilities will span a variety of tasks designed to ensure the smooth operation of our laboratory and the success of our research initiatives.

Key Duties/Tasks:

Actively participate in behavioral and physiological experiments.
Train macaque monkeys for various behavioral tasks with patience and precision.
Perform data collection, analysis, and ensure timely and accurate data entry.
Maintain detailed and organized records of experiments and findings.
Handle macaque monkeys professionally and responsibly, including providing environmental enrichment.
Assist in maintaining laboratory operations by performing additional duties as needed.
Stay adaptable and eager to learn advanced technical skills as required for the role.
Follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) and contribute to the development of new SOPs when necessary.
Collaborate effectively and courteously with other team members.
What We’re Looking For:
We’re seeking a motivated, detail-oriented individual with excellent communication skills, a strong work ethic, and a willingness to multitask in a fast-paced research environment. You’ll need patience, enthusiasm, and a deep interest in working with animals, specifically monkeys, as well as the ability to work occasional overtime, including weekends and holidays.

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience).
Willingness to work with animals, specifically macaque monkeys.
Physical ability to lift up to 65 pounds.

Preferred Qualifications:
Programming or engineering experience.
Familiarity with MATLAB.
Previous experience in electrophysiology, programming, or working with animals/nonhuman primates.
A genuine interest in research and enthusiasm for working closely with monkeys.

Why Join Us?
This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research in auditory science while working in a supportive, collaborative, and intellectually stimulating environment. You’ll have the chance to develop new skills, gain hands-on experience, and play an essential role in advancing our understanding of hearing loss and its implications.

If you’re ready to make a meaningful impact and are eager to grow in your research career, we encourage you to apply today!

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DEPARTMENT SUMMARY

The Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center has served Middle Tennessee and beyond since 1951. We diagnose and treat hearing, speech, language and cognitive problems that affect communication in adults and children. Our team of more than 100 experts includes audiologists, speech-language pathologists, teachers of the deaf, occupational therapists, physical therapists and social workers. We offer every patient compassionate, personalized care. Additionally, Bill Wilkerson is a teaching site for deaf educators, audiologists, speech-language pathologists and physical therapists.  For more information, please visit https://www.vanderbilthealth.com/service-line/hearing-and-speech.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Under supervision, run experiments, assays, and record results
• Read and follow experimental protocols (May include animal handling, tissue culture, etc.)
• Compile and communicate results to supervisor
• Follow University safety protocols (may include use of combustibles, radioactivity, toxic material, and/or carcinogenics)
• Perform calculations involving molarity, % solutions, and serial dilutions
• Prepare and operate equipment in experimental procedures
• May include blood gas analyzer, centrifuge, pH meter, spectrophotometer, autoclave, scintillation counter, electrophoresis unit, analytical balance, etc.
• Maintain and repair equipment according to manufacturer and university guidelines.
• Ensure Laboratory is prepared for experiments
• Maintain inventories,
• Maintain sterile conditions as required
• Prepare reagents
• Clean equipment.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

Our Academic Enterprise is one of the nation’s longest serving and most prestigious academic medical centers. Through its historic bond with Vanderbilt University and integral role in the School of Medicine, Vanderbilt Health cultivates distinguished research and educational programs to advance a clinical enterprise that provides compassionate and personalized care and support for millions of patients and family members each year.

World-leading academic departments and comprehensive centers of excellence pursue scientific discoveries and transformational educational and clinical advances across the entire spectrum of health and disease.

Aligning with Vanderbilt Health’s Strategic Directions, the Office of Research provides shared research resources, administrative expertise and professional guidance to enable the trans-disciplinary environment and highly collaborative culture that advances discovery and training for all the research faculty, trainees, students and staff.

Core Accountabilities:

Organizational Impact: Delivers job responsibilities that impact own job area/team with some guidance. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Uses existing procedures, research and analysis to solve standard job related problems that may require some judgement. Breadth of Knowledge: Requires subject matter knowledge within a professional area to meet job requirements. Team Interaction: Individually contributes to project/ work teams.

Core Capabilities :

Supporting Colleagues: - Develops Self and Others: Continuously improves own skills by identifying development opportunities.- Builds and Maintains Relationships: Seeks to understand colleagues priorities, working styles and develops relationships across areas. - Communicates Effectively: Openly shares information with others and communicates in a clear and courteous manner. Delivering Excellent Services: - Serves Others with Compassion: Invests time to understand the problems, needs of others and how to provide excellent service. - Solves Complex Problems: Seeks to understand issues, solves routine problems, and raises proper concerns to supervisors in a timely manner. - Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Listens carefully to understand the issues and provides accurate information and support. Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Checks work quality before delivery and asks relevant questions to meet quality standards.- Ensures Continuous Improvement: Shows eagerness to learn new knowledge, technologies, tools or systems and displays willingness to go above and beyond. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Demonstrates basic knowledge of conditions that affect safety and reports unsafe conditions to the appropriate person or department. Managing Resources Effectively :- Demonstrates Accountability: Takes responsibility for completing assigned activities and thinks beyond standard approaches to provide high-quality work/service. - Stewards Organizational Resources: Displays understanding of how personal actions will impact departmental resources. - Makes Data Driven Decisions: Uses accurate information and good decision making to consistently achieve results on time and without error. Fostering Innovation: - Generates New Ideas: Willingly proposes/accepts ideas or initiatives that will impact day-to-day operations by offering suggestions to enhance them.- Applies Technology: Absorbs new technology quickly; understands when to utilize the appropriate tools and procedures to ensure proper course of action. - Adapts to Change: Embraces changes by keeping an open mind to changing plans and incorporates change instructions into own area of work.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications :

Work Experience :

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level :

Less than 1 year

Education :

Bachelor's

This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well-being and professional growth.

Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity.  EOE/Vets/Disabled.