Location: Gaithersburg, MD
Cap-Exempt H-1B Position — No lottery required
**PREP Research Associate** This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration. **Research Title:** Postdoctoral Researcher: Interferometric Microscopy for Gene Delivery Nanoparticle Characterization **U.S. Citizen Preferred** **The work will entail:** The Microsystems and Nanotechnology Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) seeks an enthusiastic postdoctoral researcher to advance novel interferometric optical microscopy techniques for single-particle, multiparameter characterization of nanoparticles at high-throughputs. The postdoc will work closely with a collaborative, multidisciplinary team of researchers to design, build, and model new optical microscopes to provide physical measurements (such as mass, size, concentration, composition) of nanoparticles, with a focus on gene delivery nanoparticles. These physical parameters are crucial to the development and optimization of gene delivery therapies. For additional details about this research, please visit our program website: https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/gene-delivery-particle-analysis-high-throughput-light-scattering-microscopy . **Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:** § Designing, improving, and using custom-built, laser-based light scattering microscopes for quantitative nanoparticle characterization. § Building new optical models of gene delivery nanoparticles and interferometric microscopes. § Conducting experimental investigations to va