Research Associate II - Center for Human Brain Variation

Avature; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading research institute is seeking a Research Associate II to join their experimentalist team. The role involves conducting bench experiments related to brain biology and requires a strong background in biology or related fields. The candidate will contribute to innovative research in cell census and molecular profiling, working collaboratively with a team of scientists.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of related experience for Bachelor's degree or 1 year for Master's degree.
• Experience with single-cell RNAseq, ATACseq, and multiome data preferred.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to experimental workflows for profiling molecular contents in brain tissue.
• Optimize and execute molecular-biological reactions like PCR and DNA extractions.
• Maintain meticulous records and document all experiments.

Skills

Collaboration

Independent work

Communication

Critical reading

Education

Bachelor’s degree in biology, neuroscience, chemistry or related field

Master’s degree in related field

Job description

The Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard is looking for an outstanding Research Associate II to join the experimentalist team in the Center for Human Brain Variation. The mission of the project is to address an unmet need in cell census research: to understand the cell-type-specific mechanisms and larger tissue-level biological principles that generate meaningful variation in brain biology among people.

We are seeking a highly motivated, collaborative Research Associate to support this important effort in close collaboration with other project scientists. The Research Associate should be able to conduct bench experiments with minimal supervision and will have opportunities to present at lab meetings and contribute to writing experimental protocols.


RESPONSIBILITIES

• Contribute to experimental workflows for profiling the molecular contents and biological states of thousands of individual cells in brain tissue, contributing to all aspects including planning experiments; creating DNA-barcoding reagents; extracting nuclei from human brain tissue; preparing molecular libraries; and high-throughput sequencing
• Optimize and execute molecular-biological reactions such as PCR, DNA extractions from human brain tissue, and next generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation
• Maintain meticulous records and document all experiments in the lab notebook
• Attend and contribute to team meetings
• Contribute to generation and optimization of experimental protocols

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in biology, neuroscience, chemistry or a related field with 2+ years of related experience, or Master’s degree with at least 1 year of related experience
• Experience generating single-cell RNAseq, ATACseq, and multiome data preferred but not required.
• Ability to critically read and discuss scientific research publications.
• Strong ability to work both independently and collaboratively.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced rapidly changing environment.
• Must be comfortable and able to work onsite five days per week.