Junior Bee-Microbe Research Assistant

University of California; Davis (CA); On-site; USD 48,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

UC Davis seeks a Junior Specialist to support a project on bee-fungus interactions, including rearing bees, field sampling, and microbial culture work. The candidate will record experimental data and assist with lab and greenhouse activities related to bee-microbe interactions.

Required experience with solitary bees, sterile technique, microbiome assessment, fungal culturing, chemical ecology, or insect behavior work; organized and detail-oriented with strong data-record keeping.

Qualifications

• Experience with solitary bee biology and insect-microbe interactions.
• Bachelor of Science in Biology, Entomology, Ecology or similar field.
• Organized, detail-oriented; able to maintain cultures and experimental records.

Responsibilities

• Assist with field sampling of solitary bee nests and field sites (Student Farm, UC Reserves).
• Support bee fungal culturing, tissue sampling, and lipidomics prep.
• Maintain fungal cultures and assist with culture inventories and sample prep.
• Generate figures for publications/presentations using PowerPoint, BioRender, R, GraphPad, ImageJ.

Skills

Solitary bee experience

Sterile technique

Microbiome assessment

Fungal culturing

Insect behavior work

Data recording

Education

Bachelor of Science in Biology/Entomology/Ecology or related

Tools

MS PowerPoint

BioRender

R

GraphPad Prism

ImageJ

Job description

UC Davis seeks a Junior Specialist to support a project on bee-fungus interactions, including rearing bees, field sampling, and microbial culture work. The candidate will record experimental data and assist with lab and greenhouse activities related to bee-microbe interactions.

Required experience with solitary bees, sterile technique, microbiome assessment, fungal culturing, chemical ecology, or insect behavior work; organized and detail-oriented with strong data-record keeping.