Senior Research Associate Aquaculture Nutrition

TITLE: Senior Research Associate Aquaculture Nutrition

DEPARTMENT: College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources

REPORTS TO: Principal Investigator 

CLASSIFICATION: Staff-12 months

EFFECTIVE DATE: TBD

STANDARD WORK HOURS: 37.5 hours per week

EMPLOYMENT STATUS: Full-Time 

EMPLOYMENT CLASSIFICATION: Exempt  

JOB SUMMARY: 

The Senior Research Associate will have specialized managerial roles and serve as a support person for the Principal Investigator (PI) of Aquaculture Nutrition in the School of Aquaculture at Kentucky State University. This position will conduct research in Aquaculture Nutrition (100%) with emphasis on nutritional requirements, evaluation of novel raw materials and feed additives, and feed formulation and manufacturing for finfish and shrimp.

 ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: 

• Independently and in cooperation with coauthors, prepare professional manuscripts for peer- reviewed journals.
• Review student theses and presentations, and internal and external manuscripts for peer-review.
• Delegate tasks to employees and students to efficiently utilize time and resources according to the priorities set by the PI
• Assist the PI and other supporting staff in designing experiments; mentor, supervise and lead high school, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as other full-time employees.
• Assist the PI in the implementation of Evans Allen and externally-funded research projects.
• The incumbent will conduct collaborative and independent research geared towards the optimization of feeds for sustainable production of farmed aquatic animals.
• Care and feeding of finfish and shrimp, monitoring animal health and routine monitoring of water quality parameters, plumbing, and general labor.
• Manage lab spaces, maintain inventory of chemicals, feed ingredients and assay reagents for use in the laboratory
• Assist in ordering and acquiring feed ingredients, feeds, supplies and equipment.
• Collect and maintain data in proper spreadsheet layout and perform statistical analysis of data.
• Give professional presentations, interact with students, farmers, industry and other stakeholders.
• Assist the PI in writing grant and other proposals.
• Track applications and correspondence of potential graduate students and student progress.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:

• Knowledge of Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences.
• At least three years of practical experience in aquaculture nutrition research.
• Experience with nutrition studies on largemouth bass, hybrid striped bass, rainbow trout, and Pacific white shrimp, including both growth and digestibility assessments.
• Experience with operation and maintenance of feed manufacturing equipment and processes including milling, mixing, cold pelleting, extrusion pelleting and drying.
• Experience with operation and maintenance of cold and warm water aquaculture recirculating systems.
• Analytical skills including operation, maintenance and troubleshooting of nitrogen analyzer, bomb calorimeter, microplate reader, DNA extraction/purification and PCR.
• Ability to efficiently organize a diverse work load and delegate tasks to others.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team with excellent communication skills.
• Computer literacy.
• Initiative, resourcefulness, and punctuality.
• Exhibit professional and personable demeanor.
• Experience in data analysis and scientific writing.
• Ability to perform miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: 

• This position does not have supervisory responsibility. 

OTHER DUTIES: 

• Other related duties as required.