Research Assistant

Job Description

Job Description The Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the College of Medicine & Health Sciences is seeking a Research Assistant for a grant-funded project in bacteriology and microbial genomics. The Research Assistant will work on laboratory-based studies involving bacterial culture, identification, and molecular analysis, as well as computational analysis of bacterial genomes, metagenomes, and transcriptomes. The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience in microbiology and familiarity with bioinformatics pipelines for analyzing high-throughput sequencing data. Experience with tools such as R, Python, or related platforms will be highly beneficial. The project may involve supporting experimental design, sample processing for sequencing, computational data analysis, and preparation of research reports and publications. The preferred candidate should have demonstrated experience in bacteriology, microbial genomics, or bioinformatics, and hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant field. An appropriate educational degree supplemented with documented evidence to support the following:

• Skilled in microbiology/bacteriology laboratory techniques
• Ability to culture, isolate, and characterize bacterial strains
• Basic experience with microbial genomics or NGS data analysis
• Ability to assist with genomic, metagenomic, and transcriptomic workflows
• Good technical writing skills and ability to assist in scientific reporting
• Flexible approach and initiative in executing the role
• Ability to support graduate students and collaborate with team members
  
  

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Microbiology, Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, or related fields
• Experience with bioinformatics tools for bacterial genome assembly, annotation, and comparative analysis
  
  

• Familiarity with metagenomic and transcriptomic datasets (16S, WGS, RNA-seq)
• Ability to work with R or Python for data visualization and analysis
• Demonstrable willingness to support laboratory and computational work
• Adaptability and flexibility to meet research demands
• Commitment to maintaining a safe and healthy laboratory environment