Biology Technician II

Akima, LLC

1d•Onsite

About The Position

ASE, an Akima company, is looking to bring on a seasonal Biology Technician who will provide basic laboratory tasks and assist other personnel in generating scientific data. You will support The National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC), a science center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with specialized laboratories dedicated to wildlife disease detection, control, and prevention. Their mission is to advance wildlife health science for the benefit of animals, humans, and the environment. The support work involves the performance of molecular techniques and scientific research to better understand the biology and disease ecology of fungal pathogens, including those that are associated with emerging diseases of conservation significance such as bat white-nose syndrome (WNS) and snake fungal disease (SFD). The selected candidate will collaborate with government scientists to assist with basic laboratory tasks and assist with research of these diseases under the supervision of other laboratory personnel.

Requirements

Must be a US Citizen able to pass a background check prior to start.
Some undergraduate work in a science discipline.
Six months of general experience and 6 months of specialized experience; Excess specialized experience beyond the required 6 months may be substituted for general experience.

Responsibilities

Document results and conclusions, and submit records documenting progress towards task accomplishment.
Collaborate with USGS staff and scientists to collect data that may be written and published in USGS report products, in accordance with fundamental science practices and quality assurance standards.
Perform basic laboratory studies of fungal pathogens such as those that cause bat white-nose syndrome and snake fungal disease.
Follow instructions and pre-established guidelines to perform the laboratory studies under the supervision of other laboratory personnel.
Enter data in Excel.
Follow standard operating procedures (SOPs), maintain a detailed laboratory notebook, and adhere to guidelines of a Quality Management System (QMS).
Collect, curate, and prepare biological and environmental samples for nucleic acid.
Perform conventional PCR with oversight by another lab.
Operate basic laboratory equipment (balances, centrifuges, microscopes, incubators, shakers, pipettes, thermal cyclers, spectrophotometers).
Maintain live fungus.
Harvest and enumerate fungal spores for various.
Extract nucleic acid for the purpose of laboratory.
Assist to assemble, evaluate, and analyze data for presentation in a scientifically appropriate.
Assist to assemble, evaluate, and analyze data for inclusion in reports and publications describing.