HLA Fellow

Job Description Summary

MUSC seeks a doctoral-level trainee for a structured HLA Laboratory Director-in-Training Fellowship in the HLA and Tissue Typing Laboratory. The program provides supervised clinical, technical, quality, regulatory, consultative, and leadership experience in histocompatibility and immunogenetics and supports preparation for a future application to the American College of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ACHI) Laboratory Director certification pathway.
The fellow will train in a high-complexity academic laboratory supporting adult and pediatric solid-organ transplantation, hematopoietic cell transplantation, living-donor and paired-exchange programs, and organ-donor services in collaboration with Sharing Hope SC.

Entity

Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC - Univ)

Worker Type

Employee

Worker Sub-Type​

Faculty

Cost Center

CC001006 COM PATH Laboratory Medicine CC

Pay Rate Type

Salary

Pay Grade

University-00

Pay Range

0.00 - 0.00 - 0.000

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Work Shift

Job Description

Position summary

MUSC seeks a doctoral-level trainee for a structured HLA Laboratory Director-in-Training Fellowship in the HLA and Tissue Typing Laboratory. The program provides supervised clinical, technical, quality, regulatory, consultative, and leadership experience in histocompatibility and immunogenetics and supports preparation for a future application to the American College of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ACHI) Laboratory Director certification pathway.

The fellow will train in a high-complexity academic laboratory supporting adult and pediatric solid-organ transplantation, hematopoietic cell transplantation, living-donor and paired-exchange programs, and organ-donor services in collaboration with Sharing Hope SC.

Training and responsibilities

• Clinical interpretation. Review HLA typing, antibody identification, donor-specific antibodies, virtual and physical crossmatches, chimerism, and transplant-risk consultations under qualified director supervision.
• Methods and informatics. Gain experience with serologic and molecular methods, single-antigen bead assays, flow cytometry, high-resolution typing/NGS, validation, troubleshooting, and reporting.
• Quality and compliance. Participate in proficiency testing, competency, document control, occurrence management, and inspection readiness within CLIA/CMS, ASHI, CAP, OPTN/UNOS, NMDP, and FACT-related systems.
• Leadership and operations. Develop experience in policy, personnel and workflow management, budgeting, inventory, strategic planning, quality review, and communication with transplant programs.
• Education and scholarship. Teach staff and learners and complete a mentored quality-improvement, clinical, informatics, or translational project suitable for presentation or publication.
• Call and portfolio. Participate in graduated after-hours consultation and maintain contemporaneous records of competencies, cases, consultations, rotations, evaluations, and supervisory experience.

Qualifications

• MD, DO, or earned doctoral degree in a discipline that may satisfy applicable ACHI and CLIA high-complexity laboratory-director educational requirements. Not every doctoral degree qualifies; education and coursework are independently reviewed.
• Background in immunology, immunogenetics, histocompatibility, transplantation, pathology, molecular diagnostics, clinical laboratory science, or a closely related field.
• Eligibility for MUSC employment and, for physicians, eligibility for SC medical licensure; ability to participate in supervised evening, weekend, and holiday consultation as training progresses.

Preferred: Relevant postdoctoral, fellowship, residency, or clinical laboratory experience; scholarship, quality improvement, teaching, data analysis, or consultation experience; and strong communication and professional judgment.

Why MUSC

The fellow will receive broad exposure to complex transplant immunology, close mentorship from experienced HLA leadership, multidisciplinary collaboration with adult and pediatric transplant programs, and opportunities in innovation, informatics, paired donation, quality improvement, teaching, and clinical research.

Certification notice

The 2026 ACHI handbook describes education, postdoctoral training, and laboratory training and supervisory/directorial experience requirements for U.S. candidates. Applicable training and experience should be accrued within the eight years before application and must be independently documented and verified. Completion of this fellowship does not guarantee examination eligibility or confer ACHI certification, ASHI approval, or CMS/CLIA laboratory-director qualification.

How to apply

Submit a curriculum vitae, a cover letter describing relevant experience and career goals, and contact information for three professional references through the official MUSC recruitment portal.

Additional Job Description

Physical Requirements: (Note: The following descriptions are applicable to this section: Continuous - 6-8 hours per shift; Frequent - 2-6 hours per shift; Infrequent - 0-2 hours per shift) Ability to perform job functions in an upright position. (Continuous) Ability to perform job functions in a seated position. (Infrequent) Ability to perform job functions while walking/mobile. (Frequent) Ability to climb stairs. (Infrequent) Ability to climb ladders. (Infrequent) Ability to work indoors. (Continuous) Ability to work in confined/cramped spaces. (Frequent) Ability to perform job functions from kneeling positions. (Frequent) Ability to bend at the waist. (Frequent) Ability to twist at the waist. (Infrequent) Ability to squat and perform job functions. (Infrequent) Ability to perform 'pinching' operations. (Frequent) Ability to fully use both hands/arms. (Continuous) Ability to perform repetitive motions with hands/wrists/elbows and shoulders. (Frequent) Ability to fully use both legs. (Continuous) Ability to reach in all directions. (Continuous) Possess good finger dexterity. (Continuous) Ability to maintain tactile sensory functions. (Continuous) Ability to maintain good olfactory sensory function. (Continuous) Ability to lift and carry 150 lbs., unassisted. (Frequent) Ability to lift objects, up to 75 lbs., from floor level to height of 36 inches, unassisted. (Frequent) Ability to lower objects, up to 75 lbs., from height of 36 inches to floor level, unassisted. (Frequent) Ability to lift and carry patients weighing up to 300 lbs., assisted. (Frequent) Ability to push/pull objects, up to 200 lbs., unassisted. (Frequent) Ability to maintain 20/40 vision, corrected. (Continuous) Ability to see and recognize objects close at hand. (Continuous) Ability to see and recognize objects at a distance. (Continuous) Ability to match or discriminate between colors. (Continuous) Ability to determine distance/relationship between objects; depth perception. (Continuous) Good peripheral vision capabilities. (Continuous) Ability to maintain hearing acuity, with correction. (Continuous) Ability to hear and understand whispered conversations at a distance of 3 feet. Must be able to maintain bi-lateral hand movement skills. (Continuous) Ability to perform gross motor functions with frequent fine motor movements. (Continuous) Ability to be qualified physically (by medical personnel) for respirator use, initially and annually. Additional New Requirements: Ability to maintain a valid drivers license. Computer literacy. Ability to work rotating shifts. Ability to work overtime as required. Ability to learn and use new processes, tools and equipment as required.

If you like working with energetic enthusiastic individuals, you will enjoy your career with us!

The Medical University of South Carolina is an Equal Opportunity Employer. MUSC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or belief, age, sex, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, protected veteran status, family or parental status, or any other status protected by state laws and/or federal regulations. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment based upon applicable qualifications, merit and business need.

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