The Biological Science Laboratory Technician serves as the Research Laboratory Assistant within Medical Research Service at the Indianapolis VA Medical Center.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Major duties and responsibilities include: Performs basic technical laboratory research tasks as assigned by the Principal Investigator (PI) supervisor. Is accountable for assisting with microRNA studies including transfections and designing of Vivo Morpholinos. Assists with immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry, and cell isolation. Assists the PI with the development and manages the progress of the research project together with the PI. Maintains knockout colonies and breeding management. Assists with survival and non-survival surgeries. Oversees cell biology experiments including cell culture, immunoblot analysis, immunohistochemistry, and Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) studies. Keeps accurate records of experimental research protocols and data. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Financial Disclosure Report: Required NOTE: This is a TERM appointment (not-to-exceed 4 years). Term appointments are non-status, nonpermanent appointments of limited duration (more than 1 year but not more than 4). Term employees are eligible to earn leave and generally have the same benefits as permanent employees including health and life insurance, within-grade increases and Federal Employees Retirement System and Thrift Savings Plan coverage. Term appointments may be extended without further competition (up to the 4-year maximum). The appointment to a Term position does not confer eligibility for promotion or reassignment to other positions or the ability to be non-competitively converted to permanent employment.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. You may qualify at the GS-7 level if you fulfill one of the following qualifications: -SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: One (1) year of specialized experience that equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-6 grade level in the Federal service. Experience must have been related to the work of the position for which application is made. The specialized experience required for some positions in this series is normally work performed in a controlled environment. Examples of specialized experience may include: research activity or control program work, nursery work that required the growing and maintenance of plants in a controlled environment, work comparable to that with a large dairy farm where production records, animal environment, and sanitary conditions were kept in accordance with modern dairy practice. Specialized experience must include: performing experiments, including cell culture, immunoblot analysis, immunohistochemistry, and Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) studies; recording and organizing experimental data; and performing limited data analysis. -OR- -EDUCATION: Successful completion of one (1) full year of graduate education (18 semester hours) or an internship that includes courses directly related to the work of the Biological Science Lab Technician. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) -OR- -COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: Equivalent combinations of education and specialized experience (as described above) to meet the requirements at the GS-7 level. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Animal HusbandryBiologyCommunicationMathematical Reasoning IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Physical Requirements and Work Environment: Attendance, walking, standing, bending, kneeling, lifting, twisting, squatting, sitting, hearing, talking, seeing, and writing. Ability to set priorities and manage a high workload within limited time frames. Able to handle the stress of day-to-day responsibilities of patient care. The work involves regular and recurring moderate risks or discomforts which require special safety precautions, e.g., working around moving parts, with irritant chemicals and blood products. The incumbent is required to use protective clothing such as lab coats, goggles, and gloves as necessary and to follow procedures for minimizing risk. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

NOTE: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

Contacts

• Address Indianapolis ORD VISN 10 1481 West Tenth Street Indianapolis, IN 46202 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]