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***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

This is a term appointment not to exceed 4 years. Term appointments are non-status, nonpermanent appointments of limited duration of more than 1 year, but not more than 4 years and are subject to a 1 year trial period. Should the need warrant, term appointments may be extended without further competition up to a maximum of the 4 year limitation. The appointment to a term position does not confer eligibility for promotion, reassignment, or transfer to other positions or the ability to be non-competitively converted to permanent employment.

The Research Health Scientist is responsible for conducting original investigations related to the involvement of intracellular calcium signaling in the pathophysiology, complications, and treatment of metabolic diseases of aging, cellular disease mechanisms, and signal transduction research. Major duties and responsibilities include but not limited to:

• Maintaining funding support for specialized research activities
• Serving as the Principal Investigator (PI) for a research program currently funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and/or the VA
• Originating independent research and exercising full responsibility for the management and operation of these research activities
• Leading team of staff in diverse research areas at all levels, coordinating research programs function in a cost effective, efficient, and productive manner
• Training and advising other researcher staffs at graduate and postdoctoral levels of training
• Demonstrating the ability to collaborate with investigators from a variety of disciplines, including geriatrics, gerontology, chemistry, molecular biology, biotechnology, metabolism, immunology, and pathology
• Functioning as a researcher in the GRECC and exercising full responsibility for conducting collaborative and independent research in the above areas of research
• Coordinating the expenditure of support funding and ensures assigned laboratory spaces function in a cost effective, efficient, and productive manner
• Obtaining research grants from the VA, NIH and other public and private sources to fund research in the above areas of emphasis
• Administering all aspects of funding for his/her research and executing his/her grant budgets
• Presenting papers at meetings of regional and national scientific societies and preparing/submitting manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals in the above areas of emphasis
• Coordinating and conducting GRECC educational activities (including didactic and informal presentations at local, regional, and national levels; teaching sessions for postdoctoral fellows, residents, medical and graduate students, and other trainees at the VA and affiliated institutions) on topics relevant to his/her specialized area of research

Work Schedule: Part Time (10 hours per week)
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• 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. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Basic Requirement: The following are basic requirements for appointment as a Research Health Scientist in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which all applicants must met.

• Basic Education: Bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree: major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position. This degree must be from an educational program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed.)

Minimum Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements one of the following minimum requirement criteria must be met to be qualified for this position.

• Specialized Experience (GS-13): You must have one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (i.e., GS-12) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Qualifying examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: providing direction and guidance regarding critical and complex geriatric immune, infectious disease, and vaccination responses to promote healthy aging; developing new methods, approaches, and procedures for active grant funding research projects which include both clinical and translational studies; leading an active grant funding project team, ensuring effective, efficient, and productive research study efforts; pursuing funding opportunities through National Institute of Health (NIH) and public/private sector grant approval; and administering all aspects for funding research to include complete execution of assigned project grant salary resources, and budgeting. (CLEAR DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: Your resume must show complete information for each job entry, such as beginning and ending dates of employment, duties performed, and/or total hours worked per week.)

AND

SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill, knowledge, ability, or other worker characteristic basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirement for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factors for this position are:

• SPF 1: Experience completing investigations and dissemination of active research funding in the specialized fields focused on how of immune resilience, infectious diseases, and vaccine responses shape functional trajectories and health span in older patients, with a strong emphasis on testing repurposed and novel interventions (e.g., metformin and other immunometabolic or immunomodulatory agents) to promote healthy immune aging.
• SPF2: Experience leading a grant funding project team of diverse staff at all levels through collaboration to ensure effective, efficient, and productive geriatric research efforts (e.g. grants options available from the organization, NIH, government, and/or public/private sector).

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Critical Thinking
• Leadership
• Problem Solving
• Project Management
• Research

IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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.

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; religious; 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.

Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary but involves some walking and extended hours for the completion of experiments. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to perform portions of the work. However, there is periodic walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items such as equipment, instructional material, books and manuals. No special physical demands are required to perform the work although it is recommended the incumbent is physically capable of lifting 40 lbs.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Your responses to the assessment questionnaire will be reviewed along with the information provided in your resume and supporting documentation to determine if you are qualified for the position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered and/or you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

Candidates who apply under All U.S. Citizens announcements will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. Qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The categories are defined as follows:

• Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
• Highly qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the requirements of the job;
• Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and
• Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.

Application of Veterans' Preference: Category rating and selection procedures place those with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligible applicants that meet the eligibility and qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category (except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher).

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.