Associate Director, Diabetes Diagnostic Laboratory - The University of Missouri School of Medicine
The Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences at the University of Missouri is seeking outstanding candidates for the position of Associate Director of the Diabetes Diagnostic Laboratory (DDL). Primary responsibilities will include coordination of the clinical and research efforts in this laboratory and participation as an investigator on all grants and contracts for which the Director, Dr. Randie Little, is the current PI. The candidate must have some experience in both clinical and research areas and have respect for both areas of work. This position is expected to transition to Director on retirement of the existing director.
About the DDL:
The DDL is nationally recognized for our HbA1c testing and expertise, leading us to the forefront of efforts to standardize and improve the quality of HbA1c testing. Our laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art diabetes-related testing for both research and clinical trials.
Our facility has served as a reference laboratory for the groundbreaking study, the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), operates as the central diabetes testing laboratory for the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), and functions as the administrative core of the National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program (NGSP), an international program for standardization of HbA1c assays, which are important tests used to assess glycemic control in patients with diabetes.
The Clinical Role:
A basic knowledge of clinical laboratory regulatory requirements such as Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and College of American Pathologists (CAP) is important, as well as an understanding of these specific diabetes test methodologies. Experience in managing a clinical laboratory is helpful but not mandatory. The clinical portion of the laboratory includes, but is not limited to:
- Measurements of HbA1c (by both ion-exchange and boronate affinity HPLC)
- Insulin and c-peptide analyses
- Patient result reporting
The Research Role:
The research portion of the laboratory considerably overlaps with the clinical portion. The DDL Laboratory Director serves as the NGSP Network Coordinator. The NGSP maintains a laboratory network with reference method results that are based on landmark clinical trial data. The program certifies manufacturer assay methods for HbA1c and certifies and monitors laboratories doing large studies and clinical trials where measurement of HbA1c is a key variable. Proficiency testing, primarily through the CAP, is used to evaluate progress toward improved comparability of results among laboratories. The NGSP network assigns values to the accuracy-based CAP HbA1c survey.
Current research projects include:
- Examination of stability of HbA1c and interference (e.g. from Hb variants) with different assay methods
- Standardization of c-peptide assays (in progress)
- The c-peptide program includes the use of single donor and pooled serum specimens for use by manufacturers in the calibration of their assays.
- Operates a LS/MS reference method for c-peptide in coordination with the National Metrology Institute of Japan which also has a C-peptide reference method.
- Traceability scheme, including a reference method and certified reference materials has been proposed along with next steps for implementation
- Evaluation of glycated albumin for use in patients with renal failure and determination of glycation rates of common variant hemoglobins
Minimum Qualifications:
- PhD, MD, or DO
- Clinical and Research experience related to diabetes
Candidates will be evaluated on:
- PhD in Biology, Chemistry or Clinical Chemistry
- History of obtaining and securing extramural funding
- Mass spectrometry experience
- Clinical lab testing experience
- Strong record of peer-reviewed publications
Employees of the University of Missouri and University of Missouri Healthcare are eligible for the Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program.
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