BFT - Research I

About the role

The Research Associate I position supports respiratory pathogen surveillance and biorepository operations across several federally funded programs at the Lemieux Laboratory in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

Responsibilities

• Receive, accession, and process clinical research specimens (nasopharyngeal swabs, anterior nasal swabs, bronchial lavage, and related respiratory specimens, as well as blood and blood component specimens) for research and biorepository activities.
• Perform initial QC, aliquoting, labeling, and placement into long term storage.
• Manage and inventory a biorepository of approximately 100,000 clinical research specimens, including freezer organization, box and position level tracking, pull lists for downstream testing, and periodic reconciliation of physical inventory against digital records.
• Enter, track, and reconcile specimen and test data in laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and study databases (e.g. REDCap); identify and resolve discrepancies between clinical source data and research records.
• Support sample handoff to downstream next generation sequencing and molecular characterization workflows, including sample selection, retrieval, QC, and transfer to sequencing teams at MGH and the Broad Institute.
• Maintain accurate documentation (lab notebook, SOPs, batch records, QC logs, incident reporting, and sample chain of custody) and follow institutional biosafety and data security requirements, including HIPAA and Limited Dataset handling.
• Carefully coordinate sample transfers within the Mass General Brigham (MGB) network and to external partners (Broad Institute, MDPH, CDC, and academic collaborators including Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health), including preparation of shipping manifests, temperature controlled packaging, and tracking documentation.
• Communicate effectively with supervisors, clinical laboratory partners, and external collaborators regarding specimen status, backlogs, and testing timelines; contribute to SOPs, method write ups, protocols, and internal training as needed.

Requirements

• Demonstrated organizational skills and strong attention to detail, including the ability to execute repetitive, meticulous tasks over extended periods without loss of accuracy or consistency.
• Experience with, or demonstrated ability to rapidly learn, laboratory information management systems (LIMS); prior experience with a clinical LIMS is strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with biorepository or biobank operations, freezer inventory systems, and sample tracking best practices is preferred.
• Comfort with basic molecular laboratory techniques (e.g., pipetting, nucleic acid extraction, RT-qPCR) and contamination prevention practices; ability to follow SOPs and biosafety requirements in a clinical and research laboratory setting.
• Strong time management skills and the ability to work independently across multiple concurrent projects while meeting deadlines; strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to document workflows clearly and coordinate with clinical, academic, and public health partners; comfort with data entry and basic data review tools (e.g., Excel) and familiarity with electronic documentation practices.

Skills

• Organizational skills and strong attention to detail.
• Experience with laboratory information management systems (LIMS).
• Familiarity with biorepository or biobank operations.
• Basic molecular laboratory techniques.
• Comfort with data entry and basic data review tools.