Lab Manager - Biological Sciences (Behringer Lab)

Vanderbilt University • Nashville, TN

12h

About The Position

The Lab Manager is part of the Behringer Lab in Department of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University and is an essential member of the research team responsible for supporting the research, organization, and day to day operations of the lab. This includes maintaining daily lab operations, including ordering supplies, reconciling expenses, maintaining equipment and coordinating repair, ensuring lab safety, establishing lab protocols, oversee long-term co-culture and assessment of experimental evolution cultures, mentoring graduate and undergraduate students, and organizing lab meetings and events. In addition, the Lab Manager conducts directed research, generates data and helps write manuscripts. To this end, experience in CRISPR, cell culture, nucleic acid extraction for NGS sequencing, and project organization are required. The Lab Manager will report directly to Dr. Megan Behringer (Principal Investigator) and regularly work with the other members of the Behringer Lab to ensure the long-term co-culture and assessment of experimental bacterial populations under various biotic and abiotic stressors is continuously maintained. We are ayoung and vibrant team dedicated to understanding fundamental biological processes in a collaborative environment. The major research focus of this position is understanding how stress influences population dynamics within a model 2-strain community, which aligns with the global lab interests of how microbes evolve in stressful environments.

Requirements

• A Bachelor’s Degree in fields of Biology, Ecology/Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Science, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, or other related area.
• A minimum of 5 years of laboratory work experience is required.
• Prior experience in cell culture is necessary.
• Prior experience in conducting DNA extraction is necessary.
• Ability to work with others in a mutually respectful environment that values honesty, integrity, and accountability is necessary.

Nice To Haves

• Prior experience with CRIPSR editing is preferred.
• Prior experience with managing laboratory operations and mentoring is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Perform directed research
• Manage the long-term culture of experimental populations including maintaining inventory of key media and reagents; coordinating daily transfers, periodic screening for contamination, and collections at key timepoints; and ensuring the glassware and spent cultures are appropriately sterilized. This is the major mission of the lab and underlies the majority of our investigation into how microbes adapt to stress.
• Perform nucleic acid extraction from long-term experimental cultures and prepare sample for submission to the genomic sequencing core facility.
• Help optimize new culture strategies to expand investigation to additional stressors.
• Assist with reconstructing key mutations that underlie bacterial adaptation under feast/famine.
• Mentor and assist with onboarding of new lab members including ensuring that any necessary training is complete.
• Assist with lab organization, such as ordering and receiving reagents, keeping chemical inventories and safety protocols current, and organizing lab meetings and events. The applicant will be expected to be highly organized and detail oriented to help manage the day-to-day operation of the lab.
• Work with PI to hire new research assistants. Includes posting job descriptions and assisting with interviewing candidates
• Mentor trainees
• Lab organization
• Other duties as necessary

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees