Researcher 3

University of Minnesota - Minneapolis, MN

Full-time - Entry Level

Minneapolis, MN

Educational Services

About the position

The Minnesota Muscle Lab is seeking a Researcher 3 to coordinate and assist with projects focused on early-phase drug discovery and translational research for heart disease and muscle disorders. This role involves leading biosensor development and cell culture for multiple NIH-funded projects, utilizing advanced techniques in molecular dynamics and spectroscopy to understand muscle health and disease.

Responsibilities

• Plan, design, and generate recombinant DNA constructs for creating stable clones using various molecular biology techniques.
• Characterize expression via western blot and flow cytometry, and maintain a recombinant DNA database.
• Plan and design expression strategies for new cell lines expressing novel proteins, and maintain stable cell lines in HEK cells.
• Prepare reconstituted fluorescently-labeled membrane proteins and perform microplate-based assays for drug discovery.
• Conduct basic maintenance of laboratory equipment, order supplies, and present research findings at meetings.

Requirements

• BA/BS in Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, or related field plus two years of research lab experience, or a combination of education and work experience totaling six years.
• Previous mammalian tissue culture experience.
• Laboratory experience with common molecular biology techniques including site-directed mutagenesis, cloning, primer design, enzyme assays, and reagent preparation.
• Ability to carry out research protocols from written or oral instructions.

Nice-to-haves

• Extensive experience with nucleotide sequence analysis and challenging cloning projects.
• Experience with HEK cells and flow cytometry.

Benefits

• Competitive wages, paid holidays, and generous time off.
• Continuous learning opportunities through professional training and degree-seeking programs.
• Low-cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans.
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts.
• University HSA contributions.
• Disability and employer-paid life insurance.
• Employee wellbeing program.
• Excellent retirement plans with employer contribution.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) opportunity.
• Financial counseling services.
• Employee Assistance Program with eight sessions of counseling at no cost.