Supervisory Research Health Scientist

US Department of Veterans Affairs; San Antonio (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, South Texas Veterans Health Care System GRECC, seeks a Supervisory Research Health Scientist at the Associate Director for Research level to lead aging research with broad regional, national, and international impact.

You will supervise GRECC programs, mentor multidisciplinary teams, oversee grant-funded projects, ensure robust study design and IRB compliance, and disseminate findings to advance aging care for Veterans and broader populations.

Qualifications

• Bachelors or graduate degree in a medical or health sciences field with accreditation; transcripts required.
• Experience leading aging-related translational research with immune/inflammatory focus.

Responsibilities

• Design, conduct, and disseminate externally funded translational aging research.
• Lead diverse, multidisciplinary geriatric research teams and manage grant-funded projects.
• Develop new methods and translational biomarkers using human biospecimens.

Skills

Translational aging research design

Multidisciplinary team leadership

Grant funding management

Project management

Education

Bachelor's or graduate degree in health sciences or related field

Job description

The Supervisory Research Health Scientist serves as Associate Director for Research (AD/R), Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS), responsible for and manages all research programs developed within GRECC having a regional and national impact on improvement of health and health care for older Veterans, as well as international impact on treatments and research related to aging non-Veterans. Duty Location San Antonio, TX. This position includes two Selective Placement Factors (skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placements Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration.

The selective placement factors for this position are:

1. Ability to independently design, conduct, and disseminate externally funded translational research on immune and inflammatory mechanisms of aging and their contribution to age-associated chronic disease. Investigate complement and anaphylatoxin signaling, immune senescence and inflammaging and the inflammatory consequences of complement-mediated barrier disruption in the context of cardiopulmonary fibrosis and related age-associated vulnerability, evidenced by a sustained record of peer-reviewed publications and research funding.
2. Experience leading diverse, multidisciplinary geriatric research teams at all staff levels through collaboration, mentorship, and effective project management to produce rigorous, productive aging-focused research outcomes. Lead competitively funded project teams drawing on funding mechanisms available through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DoD), foundations, and/or public and private sponsors, and mentoring research staff and trainees within an interdisciplinary research environment.

In addition to meeting the Selective Placement Factors above, you must also meet the following:

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT:

Bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree: major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position. This degree must be from an educational program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:

Applicants must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience, equivalent to the next lowered grade level (GS-13) in Federal service, that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of the Supervisory Research Health Scientist position. Specialized experience includes providing direction and guidance regarding aging, infection, and autoimmunity research centered on advanced complement and anaphylatoxin signaling, immune dysregulation, and complement-mediated inflammation, with emphasis on how these mechanisms shape susceptibility to cardiopulmonary fibrosis, leading an active grant-funded project team, ensuring effective and productive research study efforts across collaborating disciplines including immunology, pulmonology, cardiology, geriatrics, rheumatology, infectious diseases, pathology, and computational biology. Developing new methods, approaches, and procedures for active grant-funded research projects, including translational biomarker discovery using human biospecimens, molecular profiling, and disease models; these include both clinical and translational studies. Providing clinical research program experience that includes developing project design and implementation within the field of aging, clinical data management, and resource management, preparing and submitting grant proposals for funding for research projects and field studies. Supervising, directing overall personnel management activities, administering all aspects for funded research to include complete execution of assigned project grant salary resources, multi-year and multi-source budgeting, pursues funding opportunities through National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense, foundations, and public/private sector grant approval, and development and management of Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocols for human-subjects and biospecimen-based studies. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week.

Physical Demands:

The work is sedentary. The incumbent will require being able to stand, bend, walk, read, write and carry light load items (e.g. policy and committee meeting binders, books, research glassware, chemicals, and specimens), sit at a desk, operate a computer and laboratory equipment, travel to regional or international meetings, and frequent use of both hands. Aversions to research laboratory and clinical environments (or related allergies) are incompatible with the position (e.g. problems with noise, vibrations, temperature, odors, safety precaution/equipment, or managed chemical, biological or radiological risks).

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/.