The Cardon Lab at the MBL (Marine Biological Laboratory) seeks a motivated individual to join the Ecosystems Center as a Research Assistant (Level I). The successful candidate will be responsible for carrying out routine laboratory, greenhouse and field work, much of it exploring interactions among plants, microbes, and minerals in coastal ecosystems.
The RA will (1) help to maintain plants and microbes being used for experiments, and (2) prepare media for and participate in experiments using molecular analyses of microbial communities and their gene expression to understand plant and microbial influences on methane production and consumption in coastal cattail marsh.
Basic Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in biology, chemistry, molecular biology, or a related discipline is required. The RA will be involved in several inter-institutional, multi-disciplinary projects, so should enjoy learning new ideas and interacting with scientists who think about the biogeochemistry and ecology of salt marshes in very diverse ways.
Preferred Qualifications:
Ideally, the candidate will have experience preparing sterile media, running gels, PCR, and extracting nucleic acids for sequencing.
Physical Requirements:
The position will require some field work featuring long summer days in the sun working on boardwalks in coastal marsh north of Boston. Lab work will be at the Marine Biological Laboratory main campus in Woods Hole, MA; the greenhouse is located a 20-minute drive away in East Falmouth, MA, at the Falmouth Technology Park.
