Research Assistant

Job Description

• General Responsibilities
• Participate in experimental design, troubleshooting, and optimization of laboratory protocols.
• Perform routine molecular biology techniques, including nucleic acid extraction, PCR/qPCR, gel electrophoresis, cloning, and related methods.
• Measure gene expression at the RNA level to assess gene activity and regulation.
• Analyze sequencing data through quality control, alignment, normalization, and batch correction.
• Identify differentially expressed genes across conditions and cell types.
• Characterize cellular heterogeneity and detect rare cell populations.
• Conduct pathway and gene set enrichment analyses.
• Integrate molecular, genomic, and clinical datasets for comprehensive interpretation.
• Visualize expression patterns using heatmaps, UMAP/t-SNE, and expression plots.
• Interpret results to support biological and clinical conclusions.
• Maintain accurate, timely, and compliant laboratory documentation, including electronic laboratory notebooks and written records.
• Present research progress during laboratory meetings.
• Contribute to manuscript preparation and dissemination of research findings.
• Stay current with advances in bioinformatics, molecular biology, and relevant research areas. Specific Responsibilities and Tasks Molecular Genomics
• Independently perform molecular and cellular biology experiments using validated laboratory protocols and assays.
• Conduct cellular assays including cell culture maintenance, protein expression analysis, Western blotting, ELISA, and cellular and subcellular localization studies (e.g., immunofluorescence and microscopy-based analyses).
• Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot molecular platforms including PCR, RT-PCR (qPCR), Sanger sequencing, and next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies.
• Handle, process, and prepare clinical and research specimens using manual and automated laboratory equipment in accordance with approved protocols.
• Process patient samples using standardized identification, tracking, and documentation procedures to ensure sample integrity and data quality.
• Collect, curate, organize, and submit experimental, imaging, clinical, and sequencing data to laboratory databases and supervisors. Bioinformatics & Data Analysis
• Perform primary, secondary, and tertiary analysis of genomic data, including sequence quality control, alignment, variant calling, annotation, and interpretation.
• Develop, implement, and customize bioinformatics and statistical analysis pipelines using Python and R for automation, data processing, visualization, and reporting.
• Conduct population genetics, association, and genotype–phenotype analyses using PLINK and related tools.
• Prepare high-quality analytical reports, figures, and summaries for internal review, scientific publications, and funding submissions.
• Analyze bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data to identify differential gene expression, perform pathway and gene set enrichment analyses, and visualize expression patterns
• Integrate RNA expression with genomic and clinical data to interpret results and support biological discovery and translational research.