Research Assistant III

Basic Qualifications

What you'll need:

• Bachelor's degree in cell biology, biomedical engineering, or related fields is required.

• At least 2 years of experience involving aseptic mammalian cell culture is required including endpoint analysis (ELISA, qPCR, western, or imaging). An advanced degree may count towards years of experience.

Additional Information

This is a one year term position with the possibility of renewal.

Harvard is unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position.

Why you'll like working with us:

At the Wyss Institute, you're a member of a supportive, dynamic community that is united by its shared goal of changing the world through groundbreaking technology development and commercialization. We encourage your professional growth and development through mentorship and tuition reimbursement to support continued learning, and more. We also support your physical, financial, and mental well-being through generous time off benefits, gym reimbursements, and other programs offered through Harvard.Our facility is located in a new, state-of-the-art life sciences building in the lively Fenway neighborhood, where you have access to multiple amenities including a roof top terrace with stunning views of Boston and proximity to numerous restaurants and cultural attractions. We value an inclusive and diverse workforce, and believe that our differences enrich the work environment for all.

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Position Description

What you'll do:

• Train with the intestine and immune organs on chip team to isolate human immune cells and collaborate with them to set up different types of cocultures.

• Learn and perform laboratory techniques such as immune assays, qPCR, etc.; independently conduct planned experiments with guidance from senior staff.

• Read scientific literature to learn key concepts and state-of-the-art techniques.

• Accurately and thoroughly document experimental observations and protocols and write/update standard operating procedures.

• Follow Harvard's best practices for data storage and sharing experimental records with the team. Order supplies/consumables and maintain shared stocks.

• Maintain tissue culture facilities, including daily maintenance of tissue culture equipment such as hoods, incubators, and water baths.

• Collaborate with other teams at the Wyss Institute or in other institutions to provide project support as needed. As an example, you may be asked to provide cells for exciting projects happening around the institute.

• Contribute to the writing of journal articles, reviews, and patents.

• Train other members of the team in specific techniques and/or best practices.

• Demonstrate a commitment to diversity, inclusion, and cultural awareness through actions, interactions, and communications with others.

Job Summary

About us:

The Wyss Institute's mission is to transform healthcare and the environment by emulating the way nature builds. We harness the imagination of academia and the focus of industry to translate ground-breaking technologies into commercial products that solve big problems. We support research that universities, companies, and venture capital firms don't fund because they view it as too risky. We prefer to use the word "challenging," and we love challenges.

About you:

You are a collaborative, impact-focused problem solver who wants to be part of a dynamic team dedicated to creating and commercializing novel approaches to global challenges in healthcare and sustainability. You want the opportunity to explore your scientific interests and apply your knowledge to tackle ambitious projects in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial-minded environment with resources and support from top-notch scientific, operations, and administrative professionals. You enjoy working with highly motivated, diverse teams and leveraging your expertise to create innovations that can change the world.

About the role:

We are looking for a research assistant to join the Intestine and Immune Organs on Chip team in Dr. Don Ingber's laboratory. We are using immune organs-on-chip to study vaccines, solid tumors, and Lyme Disease. We are using Intestine Organ on Chip to study and model the intestinal tract and microbiome and its influences on diseases, such as malnutrition-associated with environmental enteric dysfunction (EED), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and radiation-induced injury, as well as therapeutic responses. With our work, we hope to understand what makes a vaccine effective, create an implantable therapy for pancreatic cancer, as well as incubate a startup that will design novel Lyme Disease therapeutics. Furthermore, the organ-chip model of intestinal injuries will help us to understand the molecular, genetic and nutritional bases of the disease and the testing of candidate therapeutics for it.

Reporting to the Principal Scientist leading the team, you will support these studies with the potential to become the go-to person for specific aspects of these research projects. You will learn cutting-edge human immunology and organ-on-chip techniques and may also be exposed to gene editing technology. The ideal candidate is comfortable learning and doing different types of tasks within the same week, has had diverse research experiences, and works well within a team.