Research Specialist RESEARCH NEUROLOGY HV

Partner's Healthcare; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 63,000 - 103,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Career advancement opportunities

Bonuses

Job summary

The Brigham and Women's Hospital, Inc. seeks a detail-oriented Research Specialist to perform high-level scientific experiments under the principal investigator and contribute to grant proposals and publications.

The role combines mammalian cell culture, mouse model work, and data analyses, with emphasis on lab upkeep, documentation, and collaboration to advance cancer neuroscience research at Mass General Brigham.

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in a Related Field is required.
• 3–5 years of experience in academic or laboratory research.

Responsibilities

• Perform high-level scientific research experiments under supervision.
• Contribute to reports, grant proposals, and publications.
• Develop study plans and coordinate reviews of proposals.
• Supervise routine lab study reports and distributions.

Skills

Problem solving

Computer literacy

Organizational skills

Discretion

Deadline pressure

Interpersonal skills

Education

Master’s Degree in a Related Field

Tools

Confocal microscope

PCR machines

Job description

Site: The Brigham and Women's Hospital, Inc. Mass General Brigham relies on a wide range of professionals, including doctors, nurses, business people, tech experts, researchers, and systems analysts to advance our mission. As a not-for-profit, we support patient care, research, teaching, and community service, striving to provide exceptional care. We believe that high-performing teams drive groundbreaking medical discoveries and invite all applicants to join us and experience what it means to be part of Mass General Brigham.

Job Summary

Functioning independently and under the direction of the principal investigator, performs high-level, complex scientific research experiments. On a regular basis, contributes to scientific literature, reports, journals, and presentations, and investigates, creates, and develops new methods and technologies for research advancement.

Does this position require Patient Care? No

Essential Functions

• Investigates, creates, and develops new methods and technologies for research advancement.
• Contributes to scientific literature, reports, journals and presentations.
• Develops proposals and study plans, and coordinates the institutional and external reviews of these proposals.
• Responsible for supervising routine reports of laboratory studies, particularly as stipulated in material transfer agreements or corporate-sponsored research agreements, to be distributed to industry scientific counterparts and academic collaborators.
• Reports on the progress of work at weekly laboratory seminars.
• Semi-autonomously writes up experimental work for grant applications, book chapters, and journal publications.
• Responsible for preparing summaries of laboratory studies for meeting presentations and publications.
• Calculates, transcribes, analyzes, and prepares figures of data using advanced statistical techniques.
• Semi-autonomously identifies, interprets, and applies findings and methods from scientific literature relevant to projects.

Qualifications

Education Master’s Degree Related Field of Study required.

Experience in an academic or laboratory research setting 3-5 years required.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Must be a problem solver willing to take the initiative and prioritize tasks, thereby ensuring the smooth and efficient conduct of several projects simultaneously.
• A high degree of computer literacy in order to use various spreadsheet, database, accounting and word processing programs to assist in administrative, grant proposal preparation, and research reporting activities.
• Excellent organizational skills in order to formulate, implement, and monitor a number of interrelated tasks.
• Ability to exercise discretion and good judgment in handling of sensitive and confidential information.
• Ability to work under deadline pressure and prioritize work from several sources.
• Excellent interpersonal skills for internal and external communications.

Preferred

The Venkatesh Lab (https://venkateshlab.org) is at the forefront of cancer neuroscience, exploring the intersection of cancer biology and neuroscience to uncover the electrical and molecular mechanisms driving neuron-cancer communication. Our research focuses on characterizing and therapeutically targeting these pathways in the central and peripheral nervous systems, with the goal of developing innovative treatments by exploiting tumor microenvironment dependencies.

We are seeking a detail-oriented, motivated Research Specialist to provide technical and research support for our lab's projects. This role involves a mix of research execution (60%), mouse model work (30%), and lab upkeep (10%). Experience with mouse handling is required, and a passion for contributing to high-impact neuroscience and cancer research is essential.

Research Support (60%)

• Collaborate with researchers to generate high-quality data for publications, grant proposals, and presentations.
• Perform advanced mammalian cell culture (routine maintenance, transfection, differentiation).
• Independently executes experiments and performs data analyses of moderate complexity.
• Independently conduct IHC/IF staining, tissue mounting, and imaging (confocal/fluorescence microscopy), including image acquisition, processing, and quantitative analysis.
• Contribute to the preparation of reports, summaries, and presentations of research findings.
• Mentor and train new lab members in techniques such as mouse handling, genotyping, and experimental design.

Mouse Work (30%)

• Develop, maintain, and manage xenograft models, including patient-derived xenografts (PDX), in rodent models.
• Perform hands-on in-vivo procedures including compound administration by multiple routes (IM, IP, IV, SC), blood collection, tissue collection, necropsy, and clinical observations.
• Collect, organize, and interpret experimental data using standard data analysis software and methodologies.
• Ensure adherence to animal welfare regulations, research protocols, and laboratory best practices.

Lab Upkeep (10%)

• Maintain a clean, organized, and compliant lab environment, including proper storage of reagents, cells, and samples.
• Manage inventory and ordering of reagents and consumables.
• Calibrate and perform routine maintenance on critical equipment (microscopes, centrifuges, PCR machines).
• Ensure compliance with biosafety, animal care, and chemical safety regulations.
• Maintain accurate documentation (protocols, experimental records, safety data sheets).

3-5 years of experience in an academic research setting outside of coursework required.

Demonstrated experience with mammalian tissue culture and aseptic technique.

• 2+ years of hands-on in-vivo research experience with demonstrated ability to execute studies with increasing independence
• Ability to design, execute, and troubleshoot protocols and experiments for various projects in the lab.
• Experience performing common in-vivo procedures including mouse handling, dosing, blood collection, tissue harvest, and necropsy
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to high-quality data generation, documentation, and reproducibility
• Able to compile, analyze, and present data in a timely fashion, with an attention to detail and careful consideration of deadlines.

Employment Details

• Remote Type: Onsite
• Work Location: 60 Fenwood Road
• Scheduled Weekly Hours: 40
• Employee Type: Regular
• Work Shift: Day (United States of America)
• Pay Range: $63,252.80 - $102,596.00/Annual
• Grade: 7

In addition to competitive base pay, we offer comprehensive benefits, career advancement opportunities, differentials, premiums and bonuses as applicable and recognition programs designed to celebrate your contributions and support your professional growth.

EEO Statement

The Brigham and Women's Hospital, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, military service, genetic information, and/or other status protected under law. We will ensure that all individuals with a disability are provided a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. To ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Veteran's Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact Human Resources at (857)-282-7642.

Mass General Brigham Competency Framework At Mass General Brigham, our competency framework defines what effective leadership "looks like" by specifying which behaviors are most critical for successful performance at each job level. The framework is comprised of ten competencies (half People-Focused, half Performance-Focused) and are defined by observable and measurable skills and behaviors that contribute to workplace effectiveness and career success. These competencies are used to evaluate performance, make hiring decisions, identify development needs, mobilize employees across our system, and establish a strong talent pipeline.