Staff Research Associate I

NCIRE - The Northern California Institute for Research and Education, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 33,213 - 39,771; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Access to cutting-edge research resources

Job summary

A research institute in California is looking for a Research Assistant I to advance knowledge of the gut microbiome's impact on rheumatic diseases. Responsibilities include contributing to lab projects, learning microbial analysis techniques, and managing lab operations. Candidates should have excellent communication skills and familiarity with wet lab techniques. An educational background in science is required. The position offers a competitive hourly wage with additional compensation potential.

Qualifications

• Excellent organizational and interpersonal communication skills (verbal and written).
• Willingness and ability to learn new methods and skills for changing research priorities.
• Familiarity with standard wet lab techniques.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to new and ongoing projects in the lab.
• Learn and use techniques in anaerobic microbiology, microbial genomics.
• Assist with managing day-to-day lab operations.

Skills

Organizational skills

Interpersonal communication

Ability to learn new methods

Independent work

Wet lab techniques

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Tools

PCR

Western blot

Mass spectrometry

Flow cytometry

Job description

Description

The Nayak Lab (nayak.ucsf.edu) has an opening for a Research Assistant I who is interested in advancing our knowledge of the gut microbiome and its impact on rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. We use state-of-the-art technologies including bacterial genomics, metabolomics, anaerobic microbiology, bacterial genetics, gnotobiotic animal models, and studies of patient cohorts to elucidate how gut microbiota impact patient response to treatment of rheumatic disease. A major driving force of the lab is the advancement of precision medicine for patients with rheumatic disease.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to new and ongoing projects in the lab.
• Learn and use techniques in anaerobic microbiology, microbial genomics, analytical chemistry, molecular biology, cell culture, mouse work, computational analysis, and immunology.
• Assist with managing day-to-day lab operations and perform general lab duties; act as a positive lab citizen.
• Work on independent projects and actively contribute to a collaborative multidisciplinary team of microbiologists, immunologists, and computational biologists.
• Report directly to Dr. Renuka Nayak, with close collaboration to group collaborators; exceptional candidates may lead independent projects, develop new ideas, and participate in procurement of funds.
• Candidates interested in MD, PhD, or MD/PhD training will benefit from this laboratory experience.

Required Qualifications

• Excellent organizational and interpersonal communication skills (verbal and written).
• Willingness and ability to learn new methods and skills for changing research priorities.
• Ability to work independently on own projects and as part of a research team.
• Ability to prioritize tasks, coordinate work with others, and meet multiple deadlines.
• Familiarity with standard wet lab techniques (e.g., preparation of reagents/chemicals, basic microbiology, tissue culture, PCR, western blot, DNA/RNA purification) and/or computational analysis of large datasets.
• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) or at least four years of research experience (in progress or completed).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with handling pathogenic microbes and aseptic techniques.
• Experience in high-throughput sequencing and analysis.
• Experience in mass spectrometry or other analytical chemistry approaches.
• Experience in flow cytometry or other immune profiling methods.
• Experience in design and assembly of DNA constructs and bacterial genome manipulation.
• Experience working with mice.

The Nayak Lab is located at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and is part of the UCSF Benioff Center for Microbiome Medicine (BCMM), enabling engagement with a rich community of investigators and access to cutting-edge resources for microbiome research.

The base salary range for this position is $24.11-$28.87 per hour. The final offer will consider multiple factors including geographic location, experience, knowledge, and education, as well as internal equity. Additional compensation like bonuses may be available.

Equal Employment Opportunity: The Northern California Institute for Research and Education (NCIRE) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. NCIRE provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, medical condition, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics, and makes employment decisions based on merit, qualifications, and abilities.

Onboarding: NCIRE is an affiliate of the San Francisco VA Health Care System and requires SFVA onboarding in addition to NCIRE’s onboarding process. The SFVA may require federal background checks, occupational health clearance, vaccines, and drug testing for certain positions. Drug testing may include screening for marijuana, which remains illegal under federal law. Failure to pass required drug testing will disqualify candidates.