Research Assistant - Department of Oncology

Wayne State University•Detroit, MI

6d•Onsite

About The Position

Wayne State University is searching for an experienced Research Assistant - Department of Oncology at its Detroit campus location. Wayne State is a premier, public, urban research university located in the heart of Detroit, Michigan where students from all backgrounds are offered a rich, high-quality education. Our deep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity, diversity and inclusion creates exceptional educational opportunities which prepare students for success in a global society.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a related field of study, preferred.
Requires advanced knowledge predominantly intellectual in character in a field of science or learning acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.
Entry level (less that a year of job-related experience)
Experience performing basic research techniques or interacting with human subjects, preferred.
Ability to work independently.
Ability to analyze, summarize and interpret research findings and data in reports and spreadsheets and communicate results.
Knowledge of scientific integrity principles.
Excellent time management and organization skills.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and demonstrated ability to work with others in a collaborative environment.
Microsoft office software skills.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, or a related life science strongly preferred.
Prior hands-on exposure to any of the following: mammalian cell line maintenance, DNA/RNA extraction, PCR/qPCR, western blotting, CFU assays, ChIP or ChIP-seq sample preparation, flow cytometry, or basic in vivo animal handling and imaging.
Prior exposure to hematology-oriented laboratory research is a plus.
Basic dry-lab/bioinformatics literacy (e.g., organizing and summarizing sequencing-derived data), or willingness to be trained.

Responsibilities

Perform laboratory-based scientific techniques.
Assist in designing and performing experiments.
Participate in implementing research objectives, ensuring compliance with all legal, regulatory and protocol guidelines.
Communicate with Principal Investigator and Postdoctoral scholars/fellows on the status of research.
Collect and log laboratory results and/or survey data.
Evaluate and perform data analysis using graphs, charts, or tables to highlight the key points of the research results collected in accordance with the research protocols as stipulated.
Proofread and edit research data and documents to ensure accuracy.
Assist Principal Investigator with writing methods and summarizing/organizing data to be used in preparing and presenting presentations for professional, scientific, and academic conferences, and submittal to academic and scholarly peer-reviewed journals.
Maintain the laboratory work areas, including routine maintenance on laboratory equipment as required.
Order and organize required research supplies and records.
Maintain cleanliness and organization of workstation.
Perform other related duties as assigned.
Cell culture & handling responsibilities include Mammalian cell line maintenance and culture (passaging, cryopreservation, mycoplasma testing), Primary cell culture from patient bone marrow/peripheral blood samples, PBMC isolation (density gradient centrifugation, e.g., Ficoll-Paque), and Bone marrow mononuclear cell isolation and processing.
Molecular biology duties include, DNA/RNA extraction and quality control (Nanodrop, Bioanalyzer/TapeStation), PCR / qPCR (including RT-qPCR for gene expression), Western blotting (including co-IP for protein-protein interactions), Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and ChIP-sequencing sample prep, Cloning and plasmid construction (e.g., CRISPR/Cas9 vector design for gene editing), and Lentiviral/retroviral transduction for stable cell line generation.
Hematology-specific functional assays including Colony-forming unit (CFU) assays (CFU-GM, BFU-E, etc.) for hematopoietic progenitor function, Methylcellulose-based clonogenic assays, Cell viability/proliferation assays (MTT, CellTiter-Glo, Annexin V/PI apoptosis assays), Flow cytometry (immunophenotyping, cell sorting/FACS, intracellular staining), and Long-term culture-initiating cell (LTC-IC) assays or xenotransplantation-based stem cell assays.
Sequencing & genomics support with Library preparation for next-generation sequencing (targeted panels, WES, RNA-seq), and Single-cell sequencing sample preparation.
Imaging & histology techniques include Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescence, Cytospin preparation and Wright-Giemsa staining for morphologic review of blood/marrow smears, and Basic microscopy (bright-field, fluorescence) for cell counting and morphology assessment.
Support basic dry-lab workflows, including organizing and summarizing sequencing-derived datasets, in support of ongoing myeloid neoplasm research.
Contribute to studies of clonal hematopoiesis, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), MDS/MPN, and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Assist with basic in vivo animal handling and imaging procedures as needed.
Communicate with the Principal Investigator and postdoctoral scholars/fellows on the day-to-day status of research and assist in preparing methods sections and summarizing data for conference presentations and manuscript submission.