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Summary This position serves as Without Compensation Research Biological Laboratory Technician (Animal) within the Office of Research and Development (ORD). The VA Research Program strives to promote Veteran-centered care to improve patient experiences and outcomes across VA healthcare and community settings, and to advance value-driven care by providing Veterans the highest quality care at the lowest financial burden. Please note, there is not pay associated with this position. Responsibilities The incumbent will assist with laboratory studies and data analysis. Will be responsible for performing and assisting with laboratory experiments including cell culture and staining of tissue sections. May also perform: Perfusion fixation of rodents and processing brains for histological examination. The incumbent will also genotype animals, assist with animal experiments, run DNA gels and western blots. This includes gene delivery experiments, and genotyping of transgenic animals. In concert with the staff of the Animal Facility and the PI, the incumbent will help evaluate the health, well-being, and behavior of the animals before, during and after research experiments. Work Schedule: Full-time (Without Compensation) Requirements Conditions of Employment U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/21/2025. Experience: You must possess general experience (1) in any type of work that includes working on both animals and cell culture based models using a variety of cellular physiology and molecular biology methods including FACS, ELISA, immunoblotting, microscopy, RT-PCR, and gene expression arrays; or (2) experience performing a variety of complex technical duties involved in conducting physical, chemical, biological and other research laboratory tests, experiments and determinations to obtain data for research purposes; compile, analyze, document and draw tentative conclusions from experimental results. OR, Education: You must possess a graduate degree from an accredited college or university in a Biological Sciences field.(Copies of transcripts are required at the time of application). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of experience and education. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Chemistry Critical Thinking Research Specimen Collection 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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. Physical Requirements: The work is predominantly sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there will be some walking, standing, bending and carrying of items of moderate weight such as large binders, banker style file boxes, meeting materials, papers, books or small parts. Hand and eye coordination for delicate testing procedures may be the only special physical demand required to perform the work. Education 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.