Research Lab Manager

Essential Functions

• Works in a research laboratory environment.
• Must be familiar with chemical hygiene and biosafety procedures, and willing to accept training in such procedures.
• Will perform laboratory research procedures under the direction of the Principal Investigator (PI) and analyze plants and microbes.
• Utilize molecular biology techniques, such as DNA extraction, real-time PCR, Westerns, cloning, plasmid and protein purification.
• Assist in the preparation of reagents and of plant samples for sequencing and functional analyses.
• Assist in experiments on the molecular, genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of telomere length maintenance.
• Assist in experiments on the role of environmental stress on plant biology.
• Assist with biotechnology projects with microbial and green moss species.
• Develop, troubleshoot and optimize molecular and biochemical assays from samples collected from growth chamber, greenhouse, and field experiments.
• Prepare libraries for next-generation sequencing and participate in bioinformatics analysis of telomere length and stress data.
• Collaborate with lab members and collaborators at other universities in planning and completing experiments, processing samples, and managing data storage and quality control.
• Train lab researchers in basic molecular biology skills and in commonly used lab protocols.
• Help manage and train undergraduate or junior researchers in the lab, provide lab safety training for new lab members.
• Participate in laboratory meetings and planning sessions, read the literature applicable to research areas as required, participate in data analysis and the writing of manuscripts, as needed.
• Manage and coordinate lab resources including maintaining a clean workplace, organizing and maintaining freezers, stocking reagents, etc.
• Place orders for equipment and consumables; keep track of equipment maintenance schedules and arrange maintenance or repair/replacement in timely fashion; arrange proper waste disposal and pickup; keep a catalog of orders and items in freezers; ensure lab’s compliance with biosafety and fire codes.
• Assist with purchasing and monthly reconciliation.

Working Conditions

• Uniforms and/or personal protection equipment (furnished).
• May work in all weather conditions.
• May work in extreme temperatures.
• May work around chemical fumes.
• May work around standard office conditions.
• May work around biohazards.
• May work around chemicals.
• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation.
• Use of manual dexterity.
• Climbing of stairs.
• May involve lifting and moving.
• Work may involve recombinant DNA, pathogenic bacteria and potentially hazardous chemicals.
• The irregular nature of the timing of research projects may require some evening and weekend hours to complete experiments.