Job Summary

The Cheruiyot Harvey Lab at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes is recruiting a professional research assistant to support our studies of mRNA translation and RNA surveillance in the context of pancreatic beta cell autoimmunity and failure in type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Our laboratory studies fundamental processes related to how mRNA translation fidelity is modulated by nutrient and stress environment surrounding pancreatic beta cells. We employ a variety of techniques including ribosome profiling, proteomics, CRISPR/Cas9 screening, and physiology using both animal models of diabetes as well as cell culture models, including primary culture of rodent and human pancreatic tissue, rodent and human beta cell lines, and stem-cell derived beta cells. Under general supervision, the incumbent will assist general studies in the laboratory using routine assays in biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, and in vivo physiology. The incumbent will also be involved in general laboratory maintenance including ordering/restocking, equipment maintenance, and overseeing laboratory safety.

Key Responsibilities / Duties:

Animal work (20%)

• Tagging and genotyping of mice
• Assist with metabolic studies in mice
• Dissect and process mouse tissues for immunohistochemical analysis

Routine and advanced molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, and cell biology techniques (60%)

• Standard bench work (e.g., ELISA, PCR and RT-PCR, DNA and RNA purification, protein extraction and western blotting, tissue culture, immunofluorescent staining and confocal microscopy)
• Culture cell lines and primary tissue (islets)
• Differentiate human embryonic stem cells to islet cells
• Optimize and establish advanced molecular biology techniques including analysis of gene expression (single cell sequencing and ribosome profiling), RNA decay, and mRNA translation
• Bioinformatics analysis of available single-cell and proteomics datasets

General lab duties (20%)

• Take inventory of laboratory supplies and order new supplies as necessary
• Equipment setup, maintenance, and repair
• Manage chemical inventories and arrange pickup of chemical waste
• Act as laboratory safety coordinator
• Assist and train junior team members