50% Research Assistant - Infectious Diseases

BASIC FUNCTION:

Provide research support by analyzing experiments and collecting, organizing, and interpreting both newly generated and existing datasets. This role includes work in immunological and health sciences.

Key responsibilities include applying and developing bioinformatic pipelines to perform analyses; generating visualizations and graphical outputs for presentations; documenting pipelines for manuscripts and grant applications; and summarizing results in clear reports. The position also involves contributing to manuscripts and publications, as well as training and supervising lab members in the use of bioinformatic tools and datasets relevant to their projects.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:

Research:

• Perform bioinformatic analyses (scRNA-Seq, ATAC-Seq, Cut and Tag, DNA methylation) based upon protocols developed by the principal investigator of the research project.

• Use datasets to test hypotheses and generate avenues for biological validation and testing

• Use coding and R to perform combinatorial bioinformatic analyses and statistical analyses, and generate graphical outputs to visualize findings

• Read and review articles as directed.

• As individual skills develop, develop hypotheses for discussion with other researchers or the principal investigator.

Experiments, Investigations, Evaluations:

• Proper documentation of bioinformatic codes used for different projects and a systematic approach to easily locate, analyze, and store data.

• Develop new pipelines as necessary and ensure methods used are robust and thoroughly tested.

• Adhere to safety and compliance guidelines in the laboratory.

• Collect, record, and consolidate data as directed by the Principal Investigator.

• Track progress of research activities.

• Adhere to Quality Assurance protocols to maintain the validity and integrity of research data.

• Develop independence in troubleshooting, analysis, and propose modifications to protocols; present results at team meetings and meet with collaborators as needed.

Collect, Analyze and Summarize Data; Prepare Reports; Contribute to Manuscripts, Publications:

• Collect and track, perform data entry for reports, and maintain records of methods used.

• Prepare materials for reports.

• Develop confidence in presenting biological data and get familiar with basic biological principles.

• May present results/findings at team and departmental meetings

Administrative and Project Management:

• Assist with manuscript submissions, if applicable.

• Track various indicators of project progress and summarize in reports to the research team.

Facilities and Equipment Management:

• Assist in the maintenance of cloud servers and external servers used for data storage at the university

• Ensuring proper functioning of all hardware and software used for data analyzes.

Supervision/Staffing:

• Will train, provide direction, feedback, coaching, and guidance to trainees and other members of the lab in bioinformatics-related areas.

Qualifications:

• Abachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience is required.
• Prior experience in bioinformatic processing of scRNA-Seq and ATAC-Seq datasets is required.
• Prior experience in producing graphical outputs for scRNA-Seq and ATAC-Seq datasets is required.
• A master’s degree is desired.
• Prior experience in performing combinatorial dataset analyses is desired
• Prior experience in data science and statistical analyses is desired.

Position and Application Details

In order to be considered for an interview, applicants must upload the following documents and mark them as a “Relevant File” to the submission:

• Resume
• Cover Letter

Job openings are posted for a minimum of 7 calendar days and may be removed from posting and filled any time after the original posting period has ended.

Successful candidates will be required to self-disclose any conviction history and will be subject to a criminal background check and credential/education verification. Up to 5 professional references will be requested at a later step in the recruitment process.

For additional questions, please contact ashley-rayer@uiowa.edu.