Research Assistant - Proteomics Optimization Planning

Research Assistant

Pay rate: $16 - $20 an hour, depending on experience and qualifications

Position Summary

The Human Performance Laboratory and CLEAR at RFUMS is seeking a part-time Research Assistant to serve as the central planner for proteomics optimization and benchmarking on a Department of Defense-funded project to identify urinary proteomic biomarkers of bone adaptation and injury in military recruits. Under the supervision of Dr. Shawn Flanagan, this position will translate the proposal-defined strategy into an executable experimental plan and coordinate the resources and documentation needed to begin the work.

Planning, coordination, literature review, and readiness are the core duties. Experimental participation is conditional and may be assigned depending on the project timeline, training, laboratory readiness, and needs of the proteomics team. This is a temporary, part time position, 8-10 hours a week.

While this position is not eligible for our regular employee benefits, all RFU employees are eligible to accrue personal leave in accordance with IL law. All RFU employees are also eligible to make unmatched contributions to voluntary supplemental pre-tax and post-tax retirement plans.

Who We Are

Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS), located in North Chicago, Illinois, is a graduate health sciences university comprising six schools and colleges. The Center for Lower Extremity Ambulatory Research (CLEAR), housed within the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine, uses multidisciplinary approaches to improve lower-extremity health and function. CLEAR's Human Performance Laboratory supports federally funded research in biomechanics, injury prevention, human performance, neuroscience, and physiology.

The award's optimization strategy integrates SP3 (or newer) sample preparation, ion mobility-enhanced LC-MS/MS, DDA and DIA acquisition, spike-in controls, process and technical replicates, and cross-platform benchmarking. The RA will help convert these scientific requirements into a staged, documented, and operationally feasible workflow; routine laboratory execution remains supervised by the proteomics investigators and technician.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Work with the PI, proteomics investigators, technician, and other study personnel to develop a staged experimental plan defining the questions, comparison conditions, controls, standards, process and technical replicates, randomization and blinding, quality criteria, decision points, responsibilities, documentation, and timeline.
• Review and summarize current and emerging peer-reviewed literature and authoritative technical guidance on urinary proteomics optimization and benchmarking.
• Develop a benchmarking matrix covering relevant sample-preparation conditions, DDA/DIA acquisition, FAIMS, spike-in controls, replicate design, analysis software, and measures of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, precision, coverage, and reproducibility.
• Identify required reagents, standards, consumables, equipment access, software, data and storage resources, SOPs, and safety documentation.
• Prepare procurement and readiness lists, gather specifications or quotes, monitor lead times and orders, and coordinate with the proteomics team to confirm readiness.
• Create and maintain workflow diagrams, experiment matrices, meeting notes, decision logs, SOP drafts, checklists, and progress trackers.
• Track planning decisions, assumptions, deviations, and revisions so the final workflow and its scientific rationale are transparent and reproducible.
• Depending on timeline, training, and assignment, assist with supervised optimization experiments, quality-control documentation, and review of results against predefined criteria.

Conditions of Employment

• Must achieve satisfactory results from a background check.
• If experimental participation is assigned, must complete required laboratory, biospecimen-handling, chemical-safety, and equipment training before beginning work.
• Must be able to maintain a reliable part-time schedule and adjust planned work around project milestones, procurement lead times, and laboratory availability.

Required Education & Experience

• Relevant education, coursework, training, or experience in proteomics, biochemistry, analytical chemistry, molecular biology, biomedical science, or a related field.
• Experience reviewing scientific literature and converting technical requirements into organized plans, procedures, or project documentation.

Required Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Strong experimental-planning, project-organization, and technical-writing skills.
• Ability to critically review peer-reviewed methods and benchmarking literature and summarize practical implications accurately.
• Ability to maintain detailed experiment matrices, procurement trackers, decision logs, and versioned workflow documentation.
• Clear communication and the ability to coordinate tasks and follow-up items across a multidisciplinary proteomics team.
• Ability to identify…