You are viewing a preview of this job. Log in or register to view more details about this job.

Research Assistant (Biological Research) - Entry Level

Leidos
Email

Are you looking for a career that will make an impact?

The Leidos Health & Civil Sector is currently looking for a Research Assistant to support biological research at the Biological Defense Research Directorate (BDRD) within the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) in Frederick, MD.  The BDRD within NMRC facilitates biological research for the rapid detection of infectious diseases of global importance and the enhancement of global disease surveillance for early pathogen detection and response.

Are you ready for unique and exciting work?

Primary Responsibilities

  • The ideal candidate must have the ability to:
  • Perform laboratory research projects including collection and organization of data.
  • Identify novel phages from nature and maintain a phage library that can be tested against individual isolates.
  • Perform phenotypic characterization of phages (for example, plaque morphology, burst size, and tropism profile).
  • Perform genetic characterization of phages (by restriction fragment profiling, pulsed field gel electrophoresis, whole genome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis).
  • Manage all aspects of equipment preventative maintenance, troubleshooting and repair.
  • Perform market research and sole source justifications for laboratory equipment and supplies.
  • Develop improved protocols for wet lab processes associated with high throughput characterization.
  • Develop automated pipelines for data analysis.
  • Contribute high quality reference sequences to improve the comparator databases.
  • Develop technical reports, summaries, and protocols.
  • Present data at national and international conferences, symposia or meetings.
  • Train US military personnel in sequencing protocols at national and international locations.
  • Maintain clear and accurate laboratory records, inventories and logbooks; record detailed observations about experiments. 
  • Maintain compliance with established laboratory safety and other procedures. 
  • Provide quality control, trouble shooting and maintenance of specialized reagents and equipment.
  • Maintain supplies in the laboratory and keeps the laboratory area clean.
  • Work is to be performed on a government installation. The normal work week is Monday - Friday 0800 to 1630.

If this sounds like an environment where you can thrive, keep reading for the keys to success!

Required Education, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

  • Bachelor of Science in a related discipline. 
  • Minimum of 1-2 years directly related biological research experience.
  • Hands-on experience with bacteriophages and/or next-generation sequencing techniques.
  • Experience with microbiology wet laboratory, DNA/RNA extraction, cell culture, ELISA, DNA/RNA isolation/purification, PCR/qRT-PCR, cDNA synthesis.
  • Must have good communication and analytical skills and the ability to meet project deadlines.
  • Requires long periods of sitting and standing; handling of various chemicals
  • Due to Federal contract requirements, US citizenship is required.
  • The candidate will be required to acquire, at a minimum, a SECRET classification access level.  Preference will be given to a candidate who already has this clearance level.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience in a military medical research laboratory is a plus.
  • Significant wet lab experience with infectious disease protocols is highly desired.