Research Associate

Isac Net; Portland, Northern (OR, KY); Hybrid; USD 51,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

PTO 208 hours per year

9 paid holidays per year

Commuter subsidies

Tuition reimbursement

Group life insurance

Annual merit increase

Growth/Development Opportunities

Employee discounts

Job summary

OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is seeking a Research Associate to join a collaborative drug development team in Portland, OR. You will generate research data, design experiments, and establish lab procedures to keep projects organized and compliant.

You should have a Master's with 3 years of experience or a Bachelor's with 5 years of experience, plus strong molecular biology and data-management skills. Occasional nights and weekends may be required.

Qualifications

• Master's degree with 3 years of relevant experience or Bachelor's degree with 5 years of relevant experience.
• Experience with bioconjugation, biomolecule purification and general molecular biology techniques.
• Excellent communication, analytical and organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team while being collaborative.

Responsibilities

• Generate research data and design experiments.
• Establish laboratory procedures and systems to maintain organization.
• Plan experimental design and SOPs with minimal supervision.
• Collaborate in highly cross-functional teams and contribute to technical writing.

Skills

Bioconjugation

Molecular biology

Flow cytometry

Cell culture

PCR

Western blot

Data management

Communication

Education

Master's degree in relevant field

Bachelor's degree in relevant field

Tools

GraphPad Prism

Excel

Microsoft Word

Job description

Research Associate

Requisition ID: 2026-41376

Position Category: Research

Job Type: Research

Position Type: Regular Full-Time

Posting Department: CEDAR - Knight Cancer Institute

Posting Salary Range: $50,814 - $84,698 per year with offer based on experience, education and internal equity

Posting FTE: 1.00

Posting Schedule: Monday through Friday

Posting Hours: 8:30am to 5:00pm plus occasional nights and weekends

HR Mission: School of Medicine

Drug Testable: No

Location: US-OR-Portland

Department Overview

The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is a pioneer in personalized cancer treatment and research, led by Dr. Brian Druker, whose development of Gleevec transformed Chronic Myeloid Leukemia from a fatal disease to a manageable one and proved that targeted therapies can work. The institute focuses on precision oncology, the early detection, prevention, and treatment of cancer, and creating a welcoming and supportive environment for its caregivers, researchers, and support personnel. Knight affiliates subscribe to three guiding principles: we are bold, we are supportive, and we work as a connected team in our fight to end cancer as we know it. We'd love for you to join us!

Every Knight Cancer employee is expected to embody our guiding principles:

• We act BOLDLY—Breakthroughs require pushing the boundaries of science, exploring new frontiers, and thinking differently
• We SUPPORT each other—Respect leads to trust, which leads to excellence
• We work as a CONNECTED team — We must leverage our collective brain power to conquer cancer because no one individual can do it alone

Function/Duties of Position

As a Research Associate, you will join a collaborative project team focused on drug development. You will maintain a high level of professional expertise in the field, work under minimal supervision to generate research data, design and execute experiments, and establish laboratory procedures and systems to enforce and maintain a high level of organization in the lab. You will take independent action in planning experimental design and designing research standard operating procedures. You will have detailed knowledge of all aspects of laboratory research and will be comfortable working both independently and in highly collaborative teams. You will have completed major biology courses and possess strong organizational and interpersonal skills. You will have a working knowledge of data management and word processing, with experience in graphic software (Excel, Microsoft Word, and GraphPad Prism). You should possess good organizational and interpersonal skills. You should also have the ability to contribute to technical writing when necessary.

May be located in shared services/core or work directly under a Principal Investigator (PI) to include sample processing, assays, cell/tissue culture, animal studies, library research, data collection, recording transcription, etc.

Required Qualifications

• Master's degree in relevant field and 3 years of relevant experience OR Bachelor's degree in relevant field and 5 years of relevant experience
• Experience with bioconjugation of biomolecules and biomolecule purification, general molecular biology techniques such as sample processing, cell culture, flow cytometry, DNA purification for mammalian cell cultures, PCR, gel electrophoresis, plate readers, western blot
• Excellent communication, analytical and organizational skills
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team while being collaborative in resolving problems
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks at one time
• Must possess energy and drive to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously
• Ability to use tact and diplomacy to maintain effective working relationships

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to work with small animals

Benefits

We offer a variety of benefits on top of joining a thriving organization:

• Medical, dental and vision coverage at no or low cost to employees
  • Covered 100% for full-time employees and 88% for dependents
• Several retirement plans to choose from with contributions from OHSU
• 208 hours of PTO per year
• 8 days of sick time off
• 9 paid holidays per year
• Commuter subsidies
• Tuition reimbursement
• Access to group life insurance, disability insurance and other supplemental benefits
• Annual Merit Increase
• Growth/Development Opportunities
• Employee discounts to local and major businesses

Job ID: 85943585