Research Technician I/II/III

The Beckstead Lab is looking for a full time Research Technician to conduct basic research in mice associated with substance abuse and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

The candidate’s primary responsibility (70%) will be organization and maintenance of the lab’s mouse colony: making sure the lab has enough mice on hand for all studies to proceed continuously, genotyping individual mice (or shipping samples out for genotyping), insuring compliance with safety and animal use oversight, monitoring the health and welfare of the mice, acting as a liaison with animal care personnel, monitoring the diet of some groups of mice, and mouse husbandry.

Other duties (30%) are varied and will include: performing mouse behavioral assays including operant self-administration, locomotor, and cognitive assays; performing general duties to keep the lab running continuously: ordering supplies and reagents, maintaining an appropriate number of carbogen tanks, and acting as a liaison with vendors. Opportunities for future growth include studies involving immunohistochemistry (staining tissue sections, imaging), performing survival surgeries on rodents (including jugular catheter implantation, virus injections, and cannulae placement), and recording of electrical activity in single neurons.

Minimum Qualifications

BA/BS degree typically in one of the biological sciences, physics, psychology or chemistry or equivalent years of relevant laboratory experience.

Candidates must have experience with rodents, knowledge of basic mouse handling, statistical procedures, as well as methods and practices typical to basic science. Should be familiar with lab techniques. They must also possess advanced computer skills (or the ability to learn those skills) including data acquisition, Microsoft Office software, order processing, and methods for backing up data. Additional useful skills include molecular biology, immunohistochemistry, imaging, and microscopy. The candidate must be an effective communicator and record keeper, reliable, detail oriented, and follow through on job-related tasks. They must demonstrate a high level of scientific rigor and be able to work independently as well as part of a team. Finally, ethical behavior is a must, as the Beckstead lab and OMRF strive to provide a safe and supportive environment for all employees.