The Jacobs’s laboratory is seeking a Research Associate candidate with appropriate background in chemistry/physics to aid in the development and application of multimodal positron emission tomography (PET) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound in small animal models of disease.

We are interested in a person with interest and some expertise using sophisticated imaging instrumentation (e.g., Bruker, Agilent, MRSolutions or other major MRI platform) as a pre-clinical, scientific investigatory tool. This work will involve various PET, MR, and focused ultrasound methodologies in rodent model systems; including DTI, DSC and DCE MRI; simultaneous µPET imaging with both small molecule, antibody, and nanoparticle tracers; and focused ultrasound manipulation while imaging. Small animal MRI facilities in the Functional Biological Imaging Core at Keck USC employ a 7T/24cm MRSolutions (Guildford, Surrey, UK) scanner with µPET insert and focused ultrasound instrumentation from Image Guided Therapy (Pessac, France). There are also facilities for MRI hardware development and data analysis.

The ideal candidate will support multimodal imaging efforts including MRI/PET applications using our dual μPET/μMRI scanner, implementation of MRI guided focused ultrasound (FUS) and quantitative analysis of MR images using an array of computational warping and statistical parametric analyses. Our current preclinical efforts with simultaneous μPET/μMRI include applications of b-amyloid and tau PET agent in mouse models of Alzheimer’s Disease, CAR-NK & CAR-T cell tracking studies in tumor models, development of multimodal nanoparticles, and investigation of blood brain barrier breakdown.

Key Responsibilities: * Assist in all aspects of the acquisition and execution of complex pre-clinical imaging protocols for Functional Biological Imaging (FBI) Core users (faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and research staff), with particular focus on MRI and PET. * Oversee maintenance and troubleshooting of pre-clinical imaging platforms. * Maintain and establish SOPs and training material including safety training materials; contribute to billing support and IACUC compliance in collaboration with the FBI Core manager. * Assist with analysis of research data, manuscript preparation, grant submission, and progress reports. Minimum Experience: 1 year Minimum Field of Expertise: Directly related education and experience in research specialization with knowledge of equipment, procedures, and analysis methods. Minimum Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctorate