Laboratory Technician

The Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine Division is made of up approximately 70 clinical staff and over 100 research staff who work in a variety of locations including: Bridgeside Point, Biomedical Science Tower (BST), UPMC Hospitals including Presbyterian, Shadyside, East, Jameson and Mercy. The division provides world class services across 10 inpatient services at five hospitals and over 70,000 outpatient office visits. We have a major research mission that focuses on basic, clinical, and translational research on the lung, microbiome, COVID-19, sleep medicine, and allergy and immunology.

The Zhang Lab is seeking a reliable, detail-oriented Laboratory Technician to support the lab's basic and translational research on lung diseases. The role involves working with experimental mice for husbandry, care, and procedures and performing basic laboratory experiments. The ideal candidate follows animal welfare and biosafety protocols, documents activities accurately, assists researchers, and maintains a clean, compliant laboratory environment. A successful candidate will have a bachelor's degree or higher in biology, genetics, chemistry, or a related science. Preferred skills include experience with laboratory mice and colony management, basic aseptic technique and familiarity with experimental procedures, strong attention to detail, observational skills, and the ability to follow protocol precisely, and good communication, teamwork, and time-management skills.

Performs a variety of laboratory experiments and procedures. Prepares specimens. Oversees supply management. Operates and properly maintains equipment.

1. Provide care and husbandry for laboratory mice: monitor health and behavior, set up breeding pairs, wean pups, and ear-tag mice for identification.
2. Maintain accurate animal records, colony inventories, breeding logs, and experimental data.
3. Perform genotyping, RT-qPCR, Western blots, and other basic laboratory techniques.
4. Assist researchers with routine procedures (weighing, dosing, gavage, injections, blood collection, and sample handling) following approved protocols.
5. Manage inventory of lab supplies, equipment, and materials.
6. Participate in training, lab meetings, and continuous-improvement initiatives.

Must be able to sit/stand for up to 8 hours.