Research Assistant/Research Associate

Department: Institute of Molecular Biology
Rank: Research Assistant
Annual Basis: 12 Month

Review of Applications Begins

July 1, 2022; position open until filled.

Special Instructions to Applicants

Please provide a letter of application, a current CV and contact information for three professional references.

Department Summary

The Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) is a research institute that reports to the Vice President for Research and Innovation. We have 18 labs and approximately 150 employees, including 45 graduate students who train in our labs. We have an administrative structure, which includes accounting, purchasing, personnel, PI support, building management, and three service centers. Our annual budget is about $9.5 million, primarily from federal research and training grants.

Position Summary

This research position (often commonly called technicians) will involve studies of actin cytoskeleton regulation using biochemical, cell biological, structural, and/or biophysical techniques. The purpose of this position is to make high-impact scientific discoveries in the field of actin regulation. The essential responsibilities will be to design and conduct experiments, interpret data, assist and train other researchers in the laboratory and maintain laboratory equipment. This position regularly comes in contact with other lab researchers (students, postdocs, and technicians) and with the laboratory principal investigator. The scope of interactions of this position with external, local, national, or international contacts will be limited or non-existent.

This person will make decisions about how to set up biochemical, biophysical, structural, and cell biological assays. They will also make decisions about how to troubleshoot experiments that are not working, how to present data, how to care for equipment and reagents, how to train other lab members, and how to formulate and address key questions in actin cytoskeletal biology. The impact of these decisions will be on the scientific direction of the laboratory. Further, because the experiments will be published in scientific journals and funded by the federal government, job-level decisions will also have an impact on the success metrics of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, the Institute of Molecular Biology, the University of Oregon, the National Institutes of Health and the federal funding of basic research. The level of independence in decision-making for this position will depend on the level of experience. Candidates hired at the level of Research Associate will participate more heavily in project design and manuscript and grant preparation compared to Research Assistants. At a minimum, the technician will meet with the laboratory principal investigator once per week. The guideline for job-related decisions will be to maximize scientific impact and experimental efficiency. The position will report to the laboratory PI. No one will formally report to this position, though, as stated above, the person in this position may be asked to train other laboratory members.

Minimum Requirements

For a research assistant rank, B.S. in Biology, Biochemistry, or Chemistry. Experience working in a laboratory that conducts experiments in cell biology, biochemistry, structural biology, or biophysics. Higher degrees in related fields will receive special attention.

Ph.D. required for research associate rank.

Professional Competencies

 

Preferred Qualifications

 

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