Research Associate I, Biological Sciences

University of Delaware•Newark, NJ

9d•Onsite

About The Position

The Research Associate I supports daily research activities in the Song Lab under the general direction and supervision of the Principal Investigators. The role’s primary emphasis is managing inventories, maintaining marine animal systems, and supporting research. The associate works with the PI, postdoctoral researchers, and students on ongoing collaborative projects, assisting with experiments, data collection and interpretation, laboratory operations, and research planning.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Developmental Biology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, RNA Biology, or a closely related discipline; alternatively, a related field with one year of laboratory experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Strong organization and attention to detail.
Hands-on bench experience, marine organism care, or equivalent upper-level academic laboratory coursework.
Basic proficiency in molecular biology techniques such as PCR, gel electrophoresis, and nucleic acid extraction.
Familiarity with standard office software, including MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Knowledge of the use and maintenance of laboratory facilities and/or equipment.
Knowledge of scientific approaches and methodologies.
Ability to understand, follow, and enforce safety procedures.
Ability to organize and coordinate scientific and/or engineering research projects and to develop and follow research methodology and protocols.
Ability to work effectively with faculty, staff, and students.
Ability to use personal protective equipment to prevent exposure to hazardous materials.
With or without assistance, ability to lift up to 20 pounds.
Dexterity in handling delicate and hazardous materials and sensitive laboratory equipment.
Ability to accurately discern colors and measure laboratory reagents.
Ability to work various and sometimes long hours due to experiment timing, including potentially holidays, weekends, and evenings.

Nice To Haves

Experience with, or willingness to learn, image processing using Zeiss Zen software and Adobe Creative Suite, including Illustrator and Photoshop.

Responsibilities

Assist Principal Investigators with analysis and interpretation of experimental results.
Collect and compile data and assist with statistical and narrative reports and graphs.
Maintain supply inventories, organize reagents and experimental protocols, and manage laboratory stock.
Maintain aquaria and care for live marine organisms used in active research projects; maintain cultured cell lines as needed.
Work with the PI, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students on team experiments.
Assist with research projects, including reading and synthesizing scientific literature to inform experimental design and troubleshooting.
Calibrate, set up, and maintain laboratory equipment; perform digital image processing; and ensure accurate data collection and record-keeping.
Comply with Department of Environmental Health and Safety, OSHA, and biohazard safety standards and promote workplace safety.
Maintain sophisticated laboratory tests and apparatus; perform and oversee experiments and data collection to ensure data integrity and protocol compliance.
Assist graduate and undergraduate students with good safety practices, particularly by monitoring their use of hazardous materials.
Use information from primary journal articles to conduct relevant experiments and interpret results.
Present experimental results to the faculty supervisor or lab group for discussion and future planning.
Perform other job-related duties as assigned.