Lab Assistant

Overview

Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation's top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs.

It's located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide.

To learn more about UC Irvine, visit (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

Today's UC Irvine Stem Cell Research Center is a dynamic center encompassing a diverse array of interdisciplinary investigators that span the schools of Medicine, Biological Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Engineering, Arts and Law. Our state-of-the-art, LEED Platinum certified research and clinical building houses 23 of our 50 center faculty members. Center faculty have obtained more than $170 million dollars in grant and foundation funds.

Our research programs include an National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored T32 training grant, state of the art shared equipment, research services programs and a seminar series.

Responsibilities

Under supervision of the PI, or other senior lab personnel, the incumbent may perform tasks including but not limited to: assisting with experiments, working as part of a team, and independent tasks; attending staff meetings; writing/updating/distributing lab protocols, SOPS, project plans/summaries/reports; training new personnel; preparing solutions, maintaining detailed paper and electronic records of study data; adhering to all experimental protocol and good laboratory practices, maintaining safety training and safe work procedures;

lab maintenance including supply inventory, equipment maintenance, cleaning, organizing, and managing lab spaces and materials; and performing other duties as assigned. Lab duties include, but are not limited to:
Animal care and Histology:
Assists in animal laboratory research projects. Research projects may consist of:
Assist with breeding colonies (setting up cages, tissue collection for genotyping, detailed record keeping), perform survival and terminal surgical procedures in rodents. Daily monitoring of animals for health. Assist with histological analyses including tissue sectioning staining and/or quantification using stereo logical analysis of CNS tissue samples using Micro Bright Field  Stereo Investigator, Volocity and Imaris image analysis software. Cell and Molecular Biology:
Duties may include maintenance of multiple cell lines (mouse or human stem cells, cortical cells, etc.), cell culture assays, flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry, such as DNA/RNA/Protein isolation and electrophoresis, PCR, rtPCR, qPCR, Western Blot, Molecular Cloning, ELISA. Cell culture and differentiation duties may include isolate neural stem cells by mouse brain microdissection, passage, maintain, expand and freeze human and mouse neural and pluripotent stem cells.

Follow written protocols to perform neural induction from pluripotent cells. Follow supervisor's instructions on animal husbandry. Cellular Analysis may include cell analysis by immunocytochemistry, flow cytometry and FACS. May be required to follow written protocols for engineering/bioengineering cell analysis platforms, 3D biomaterials, and sectioning. General Lab Support including, but not limited to:

Lab maintenance: databases for ordering and inventory Follow written instructions to prepare stock solutions, cell culture media, and assist other researchers in the lab. Maintaining and updating our lab social media accounts:
This will include posting updates and pictures to our lab Twitter and Blue Sky accounts related to recent lab achievements including new grants, papers, and presentations. Arranging travel:
The employee will coordinate with the principal investigator and invite institutions to make all travel arrangements for their invited talks and conferences. This will include reserving flights, hotels, and rental cars as needed and then promptly filing all paperwork needed for reimbursement requests. Ordering:
The employee will assist the lab manager with requesting quotes and placing orders for lab related supplies and equipment. This includes maintaining a detailed record of orders and expenses for budgeting purposes.

Qualifications

Required:

* Mammalian cell culture experience

* Skill to pipet accurately

* Effective verbal and written communication skills in English.

* Previous laboratory experience, following basic laboratory procedures and practices.

* Functions well in a team environment.

* Availability to work occasional nights and weekends.

* Demonstrates ability to analyze problems/situations and formulate solutions.

* Ability to exercise good judgment in handling information to accurately record…