Research Support Assistant II

Full-time

New York, NY

Ambulatory Health Care Services

About the position

The Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene is seeking a qualified candidate to fill a full-time Research Support Assistant II position at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. The Research Support Assistant II will conduct experiments aimed at understanding the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders using mouse models. The successful candidate must be willing to work irregular hours or weekends on occasion. Demonstrated ability to work independently and efficiently on a research project is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Conduct mouse colony maintenance, including breeding, drug administration, postsurgical care, etc.
• Independently execute behavioral assays of mouse behavior, including motor function, attention and memory, and anxiety and fear, and motivation.
• Perform stereotaxic surgical procedures on mice.
• Maintain inventory of needed reagents and supplies.
• Process brain tissue for immunohistochemical analysis.
• Acquire, process, and perform quantification of images obtained by microscopy.
• Analysis of data using statistical techniques.
• Assist with IACUC protocol preparation, data preparation toward manuscript publication and grant applications.
• Perform molecular biology procedures.
• Prepare solutions for experiments.
• Keep detailed records and report and discuss progress of work regularly with project supervisor and Principal Investigators.
• Facilitate lab compliance with institutional policies, procedures in the areas of safety, environmental and infection control under Lab Manager's supervision.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts in a biological science
• At least six months of experience in the handling of laboratory mice.
• At least six months of experience in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and Powerpoint.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience in a research lab focused on circuit-based analysis of behavior, i.e. stereotaxic surgeries, viral expression of proteins of interest, behavioral analysis, immunohistochemistry, fluorescence microscopy.
• Experience in mouse behavioral tests is preferred.
• Familiarity with Photoshop, Matlab or MedPC.

Benefits

• Excellent Benefits Package