Technician, Post-Doc, or Staff Scientist in Mamallian Heart Preservation

Research position available to study the ex vivo preservation of transplantable donor hearts via isochoric supercooling. This position will combine state-of-the-art isolated heart model physiological evaluation techniques with the principles of isochoric biothermodynamics to enable extended preservation of donor hearts outside the body, meeting critical needs in the transplantation sector. Successful candidates will have extensive experience with small or large animal isolated heart models (utilizing Langendorff or working heart perfusion) and an excellent command of cardiac physiology, with additional experience in biothermodynamics, biochemistry, or cryobiology preferred. 

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. in relevant field.
  

• Willingness to work in an interdisciplinary laboratory environment alongside mechanical engineers, materials scientists, and biomedical engineers.
  

• Extensive experience in mammalian cardiac physiology in general, and isolated heart models in particular. Candidate should have experience independently conducting Langendorff model or working heart model evaluations and performing standard assays.
  

• Excellent oral communication and written skills in English, with good organizational and analytical abilities.
  

Preferred Qualifications

• M.D. or Ph.D. in relevant field.

• Additional experience in cryobiology/cryopreservation or other aspects of biopreservation.

• Additional experience in liver perfusion and/or preservation.

• Additional experience in small or large-animal surgery, esp. heterotopic transplantation of the heart or liver.

• Additional experience in the physical sciences, incl. heat transfer, materials thermodynamics, chemistry, etc.

This position will be based out of Texas A&M University, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, and rely heavily on collaboration within the TAMU College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. There will be regular opportunities to travel to our many partner labs at different institutions around the country. Salary commensurate with experience, and guaranteed to be above NIH standards.

Applications should be sent to powellpalm@tamu.edu with the subject line “Postdoc Heart Preservation” and addressed to Prof. Matt Powell-Palm, and should contain a brief cover letter or statement of interest, an up-to-date CV, and the names / contact details of 2-3 professional or academic references.

The contact portal on this website can also be used.

Post-Doctoral Fellow in Aqueous Thermodynamics for Planetary Science Applications

Post-doctoral position available to study the complex thermodynamics of multicomponent aqueous systems at the low-temperatures and high-pressures relevant to the many icy worlds in our solar systems that represent the best candidates to host life abroad. Position will combine theoretical/computational work with extensive experimentation to measure never-before-measured multiphase (2-, 3-, and 4-phase) equilibria in multi-component aqueous systems, generating both critical new reference data for the compositional analysis of high-pressure icy oceans and fundamental thermodynamic insight into the evolution of 3- and 4-phase equilibrium configurations with pressure and temperature. Work will culminate in full and deployable thermodynamic descriptions of multicomponent thermodynamic spaces, including 2-, 3-, and 4-dimensional phase diagrams, and may optionally include extension of the acquired data to pressing modeling and experimental design considerations in planetary science and cryobiology.

Minimum Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Materials Science, Planetary Science, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or other relevant field.

• Extremely strong foundation in classical materials thermodynamics.

• Experience in thermal metrology / measurement of multiphase equilibria, preferably in the high-pressure low-temperature regime.

• Experience in thermodynamic modeling in MATLAB or Python, preferably in the construction of phase diagrams or comprehensive equations of state.

• Excellent oral communication and written skills in English, with good organizational and analytical abilities.
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in planetary science or water thermodynamics.
  

• Experience in device design within the thermal metrology space, and esp. with low-temperature or high-pressure applications
  

• Additional experience in thermodynamic modeling relevant to icy worlds, including compositional modeling of icy oceans, cryovolcanism, or related.
  

This position will be based out of Texas A&M University, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, and rely heavily on inter-institution collaborations with University of Washington and the University of Arkansas. There will be regular opportunities to travel to our many partner labs at different institutions around the country. Salary commensurate with experience, and guaranteed to be above NIH standards.

Applications should be sent to powellpalm@tamu.edu with the subject line

“Postdoc Aqueous Thermodynamics” and addressed to Prof. Matt Powell-Palm, and should contain a brief cover letter or statement of interest, an up-to-date CV, and the names / contact details of 2-3 professional or academic references.

The contact portal on this website can also be used.