Research Scientist II

Iowa State University•Ames, IA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The NGS Lab is seeking a motivated and innovative Research Scientist II to advance research on Escherichia coli and other emerging and reemerging pathogens. This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to research that directly impacts animal health, disease prevention, and public health outcomes.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and 2 years of related experience.
Degree in Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Genomics, Bioinformatics, or a closely related field.
Experience working with pathogenic bacteria, including bacterial culture, genetic manipulation such as gene deletion, cloning, and expression, and vaccine development.
Hands-on experience with next generation sequencing workflows, including genomic, transcriptomic, or metagenomic library preparation and use of platforms such as Illumina or Nanopore.
Experience performing bioinformatics analysis of sequencing datasets, including genome assembly, annotation, phylogenetics, or use of computational tools such as R, Python, and Linux or Unix.
Experience conducting infectious disease animal studies, including virulence assessment, vaccine evaluation, or virology or virus discovery work.

Responsibilities

Design and lead molecular, genetic, and immunological experiments to study bacterial virulence and host pathogen interactions.
Conduct animal studies to evaluate gene function, disease mechanisms, and vaccine safety and efficacy.
Analyze whole genome sequencing and next generation sequencing data to understand pathogen evolution, transmission, and outbreak dynamics.
Collaborate with faculty, diagnosticians, and multidisciplinary research teams to detect and characterize emerging pathogens.
Contribute to scientific publications, grant proposals, and presentations.
Mentor students and research staff.