Edna Research Associate

A.I.S., Inc. (AIS) is a national scientific services firm supporting maritime activities requiring certification of compliance with environmental regulations as well as collecting data for use by Federal, State, Municipal, and other government agencies along the US coastline.

Primary Function:

AIS supports cutting-edge marine science research at the Milford Laboratory, a world-class aquaculture research institution. In support of the Milford lab, AIS is recruiting for an eDNA Associate to support ongoing research through molecular and genetic sequencing techniques. This will take place primarily at the Milford lab and include occasionally an at-sea component. Overall, the position will support diverse fisheries research and aquaculture operations with the focus of applying environmental DNA (eDNA) based techniques to understand marine communities and habitats. Operating under standard procedure for lab techniques as well as chemical disposal, note taking, and data entry will be crucial in this role.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Use microbalances and macrobalances according to the standard operating procedure

• Work in the field or on a boat to collect water, sediment, or live organism samples as needed

• Filter seawater or process biological samples in both field and laboratory conditions

• Conduct DNA metabarcoding including DNA extraction, PCR amplification, troubleshooting PCR, QA/QC check, and set up sequencing libraries.

• Help research new lab analysis routines such as qPCR assays (including designing primers), multi-barcodes metabarcoding, eRNA analysis, and shotgun sequencing

• Understand safety procedures in the laboratory, handle chemicals, do basic chemical safety, and dispose of chemical reagents in compliance with state regulations.

• Work with potential toxic/hazardous chemicals in a safe manner according to laboratory safety procedures, including correctly labeling chemicals and chemical hazardous waste

• Record data for all standard operating procedures on chemical analysis, and provide detailed laboratory notebooks of sample analysis when requested

• Be able to apply quality control to samples and troubleshoot common laboratory problems

• Use excel and Microsoft word for tracking precision and accuracy of assigned tasks and communicating work performance (e.g., enter data, descriptive statistics, graphic analyses)

• Organize lab space and create lab cleaning/organizing standards for users to follow in order to efficiently utilize lab resources.

• Keep track of lab resources through keeping and updating a lab inventory. Communicate with lead scientists when new needs for lab resources arrive. Conduct market research on scientific supplies.

• Read and code data analyses using standard software (i.e., Excel, R, Python)

• Search and review the scientific literature to find solutions or investigate promising leads that occur from routine analyses

Compensation: Candidates will be paid a rate to be negotiated and total compensation will vary depending on candidates level of experience. This is a fulltime position. AIS benefits package includes health and dental insurance, vacation, sick and holiday benefits.

Minimum Qualifications:

• An M.S. degree or a minimum two years of relevant post-baccalaureate experience, relevant degree or experience in biology, chemistry, microbiology or marine science

• Experience working in a laboratory setting and occasionally at sea

• Experience with DNA extraction, qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction), PCR and gel electrophoresis, autoclaving equipment, Sanger sequencing, and next generation sequencing

• Experience with following SOPs, recording and reporting results, troubleshooting problems and recommending solutions to task leader.

• Experience with developing scientific communications for a variety of audiences

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Willingness to work as part of a research team

• Meticulous record keeping skills

• Proficient in using MS Word, MS Excel, MS Power Point.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with development of molecular techniques to answer novel questions or as best practices

• Experience with metabarcoding to identify species assemblages in marine systems.

Travel:

• Travel anticipated supporting multiple research cruises a year, opportunistic conference attending opportunities.

Location:

• 212 Rogers Ave, Milford, CT (NOAAs Milford Lab)

Contact:

If you would like to apply for this exciting new opening, please click the following link