"Lab Technician, PT (Limited Term)"

Job Description Summary

The Lab Technician is a non-exempt, part-time staff position that reports to the Principal Investigator (PI)/Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Rinker Campus. This limited-term assignment may be renewed and considered for a longer term based on available funding. This position is eligible for participation in our health and welfare benefits and accrued sick time.

The PI is looking for a research technician with experience in molecular biology, cell culture, and laboratory mouse work, to participate in an NIH-funded project. The successful candidate will perform cell culture studies, conduct in vivo experiments in mouse models, analyze mouse tissue at a molecular level, and present data. The candidate will need to be methodical when carrying out duties and generate reports to submit to the laboratory PI.

The job is on site at Chapman University School of Pharmacy, in Irvine, California.

Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

Responsibilities

• Perform mouse handling, tattooing, tail sampling, and genotyping.
• Determine mouse body temperature (rectal thermometry).
• Mouse blood collection, mouse behavior analysis, mouse organ dissection, thyroidectomy and mouse brain sectioning.
• Able to perform laboratory experiments in line with standard testing procedures.
• Histology sample preparation, confocal microscopy, data analysis, and presentation.
• Perform PCR, Western blot, and other techniques of molecular biology as needed.
• Maintain mammalian cell lines. Perform bacterial transformation and plasmid purification.
• Following overall research objectives, independently designs, plans, conducts, and troubleshoots experiments.
• Evaluates protocols and data obtained from groups of experiments and recommend changes to processes, procedures, and techniques to improve the quality and validity of results based on overall project objectives.
• Helps with lab supplies ordering and with lab maintenance.
• Set up, operate, clean, sterilize, maintain, and calibrate laboratory equipment.
• Ensure that safety guidelines are always adhered to in the laboratory.
• Organize and store all chemical substances, fluids, and compressed gases according to safety instructions.
• Procure, receive, label, and/or maintain chemicals or laboratory supplies.
• Be able to work individually and with a scientific team.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in biology, biochemistry, or a related field is preferred but candidates with equivalent work experience and relevant schooling may also be considered.
• Proven experience working in a laboratory.
• Proven experience working with rodents, and genotyping rodents.
• Working experience with cell lines and/or primary culture.
• Proficient in research methods, testing and data collection, analysis, evaluation, report writing, independent discretion, and judgment.
• Comfortable handling potentially dangerous substances (flammable liquids, biohazards, etc.)
• Ability to work autonomously and in a timely manner to meet deadlines.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience in Western blot, transfection, transformation.
• Experience in histology, confocal microscopy, mouse behavior analysis, mouse body temperature (rectal thermometry).