Research Assistant

Position Information

The Sidarala Laboratory is seeking a highly motivated Research Assistant to join a dynamic research program focused on understanding how mitochondrial dynamics regulates pancreatic β-cell function, aging, and diabetes. The successful candidate will contribute to projects investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying type 2 diabetes using cutting-edge molecular biology and imaging approaches.

This position is ideal for individuals interested in gaining extensive research experience before pursuing graduate, medical, or professional school, or for candidates seeking a career in biomedical research. Outstanding candidates will have opportunities to co-author peer-reviewed publications and present research at regional and national scientific meetings.

Primary Responsibilities
The Research Assistant will:
• Manage and maintain mouse colonies, including colony organization, record keeping, and health monitoring
• Establish breeding schemes and genotyping workflows to generate experimental mouse cohorts
• Assist with and perform in vivo studies, including animal handling, injections, metabolic phenotyping, glucose and insulin tolerance tests, blood and tissue collection, and other physiological assessments (training provided as needed)
• Perform pancreatic islet isolations from mice (training provided as needed)
• Perform molecular biology techniques including DNA/RNA extraction, PCR, qPCR, cloning, and genotyping
• Conduct biochemical assays including Western blotting, ELISA, insulin secretion assays, and enzyme activity measurements
• Prepare laboratory reagents and solutions, maintain laboratory equipment, manage inventory, and ensure compliance with laboratory safety procedures
• Organize, analyze, and maintain accurate records of experimental data using electronic laboratory notebooks
• Participate in laboratory meetings and contribute to manuscript preparation and grant applications as appropriate

Research Areas
Projects in the laboratory focus on:
• Pancreatic islet biology and β-cell physiology
• Mitochondrial dynamics, cellular metabolism and bioenergetics
• Aging and age-associated metabolic diseases
• Translational studies using mouse and human β-cell models

Training Opportunities
The Research Assistant will receive training in modern techniques including:
• Pancreatic islet isolation and functional assays
• Live-cell and super-resolution confocal imaging
• Metabolic phenotyping
• Molecular and cellular biology
• Experimental design and statistical analysis
• Scientific writing and presentation skills

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biomedical Sciences, or a closely related field
• Strong organizational and communication skills
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Excellent attention to detail and commitment to maintaining accurate research records; Willingness to learn new laboratory techniques

Preferred Qualifications
Experience with one or more of the following is desirable but not required:
• Experience working with laboratory mice, including animal handling and husbandry
• Experience managing transgenic or knockout mouse colonies, including breeding strategies and colony record keeping
• Familiarity with mouse genotyping techniques, including DNA extraction and PCR
• Experience with in vivo procedures such as injections, blood collection, metabolic phenotyping, or tissue harvesting
• Experience with pancreatic islet isolation or other tissue dissection techniques
• Experience with mammalian cell culture and molecular biology techniques, including PCR, qPCR, Western blotting, or cloning
• Familiarity with immunofluorescence microscopy or confocal microscopy

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biomedical Sciences, or a closely related field

• Strong organizational and communication skills
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Excellent attention to detail and commitment to maintaining accurate re