Ethan Anderson, Ph.D. is seeking a highly motivated candidate to fill a part-time WAE research assistant 1 position to study alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder, more commonly known as alcoholism and drug addiction. The Anderson Lab utilizes various molecular and behavioral approaches to develop a better understanding of addiction and escalated drug/alcohol abuse. Laboratory techniques to be performed may include, but are not limited to, 1) animal behavior testing and husbandry (mice and/or rats), 2) survival surgeries, 3) dissection/tissue collection, and 4) various wet lab assays.
The ideal candidate must have a strong work ethic, analytical skills, the motivation to learn new techniques, be able to work independently, to work with rodents, a high degree of comfort with scientific methodology, and strong interpersonal and communication skills. Previous experience with self-administration, rodent surgeries, and other lab experience are a plus. Previous experience with bacterial cloning is also highly recommended.
Job Responsibilities:
50%- Responsible for monitoring animal behavior and care for mice and/or rats. This position will study behaviors like rodent self-administration of addictive drugs, sucrose pellet self-administration, and anxiety. Other duties will include measuring alcohol drinking levels to model chronic alcohol use and binge drinking in humans. This job may also includes administering novel pharmacological compounds that can reduce alcohol drinking and/or drug-related behaviors.
30%- Responsible for wet laboratory techniques involving dissections/tissue preparation. These include examining the effects on brain tissue. In addition, wet lab assays like western blotting, qPCR, and PCR will be used to assess the function of these compounds and or geneotype transgenic mice. Bacterial cloning may also occur.
15%- Responsible for daily collecting and analyzing data, and reporting on activities. This job includes data entry into excel. In addition, this person will report on these findings to Drs. Anderson at regularly scheduled intervals to discuss progress. These may include individual meetings and lab meetings.
5%- Other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in related field.
Preferred Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Sciences; and 1+ years of experience in wet labs working with animals, PCR and western biot experience. Previous rodent experience.
Special and Physical Qualifications:
Requires standing, sitting, walking, bending, reaching (above shoulder), reaching (below shoulder), vision (near sight), vision (far sight), crawling, twisting, pushing/pulling, climbing, squatting, and lifting less than 50 pounds. l public, or cause significant damage to University property. This includes positions requiring firearms, access to controlled substances, handling hazardous material, operating heavy equipment or machinery, etc. These positions are subject to drug screens per PS-67/FASOP HR-04.
Emergency Essential Personnel -This position may be required to report to campus in times of emergency and/or closure per PS-18.
Safety and Security Sensitive Job - Safety and security-sensitive positions are defined as those positions where any form of substance abuse may affect University activities through unsafe work behavior/performance or error in judgment; or where substance abuse could jeopardize the safety and well-being of employees, other personnel, or the general public, or cause significant damage to University property. This includes positions requiring firearms, access to controlled substances, handling hazardous material, operating heavy equipment or machinery, etc. These positions are subject to drug screens per PS-67/FASOP HR-04.
Daily work with animals is required, this involves movements like loading and unloading animals into behavioral equipment, handling mice for injections, etc. With much additional training, it could also involve surgeries under full anesthesia in mice and/or rats.
Skills Needed:
Preferred Skills:
Background Check - An offer of employment is contingent on a satisfactory pre-employment background check.
Benefits - LSU offers outstanding benefits to eligible employees and their dependents including health, life, dental, and vision insurance; flexible spending accounts; retirement options; various leave options; paid holidays; wellness benefits; tuition exemption for qualified positions; training and development opportunities; employee discounts; and more!
Positions approved to work outside the State of Louisiana shall be employed through Louisiana State University’s partner, nextSource Workforce Solutions, for Employer of Record Services including but not limited to employment, benefits, payroll, and tax compliance. Positions employed through Employer of Record Services will be offered benefits and retirement as applicable through their provider and will not be eligible for State of Louisiana benefits and retirement.
All candidates must have valid U.S. work authorization at the time of hire and maintain that valid work authorization throughout employment. Changes in laws, regulations, or government policies may impact the university’s ability to employ individuals in certain positions.
For questions or concerns related to updating your application with attachments (e.g., resumes, RS:17 documents), date of birth, or reactivating applications, please contact the LSU Human Resources Management Office at 225-578-8200 or email [email protected]. For questions or concerns regarding the status of your application or salary ranges, please contact the department using the information provided in the Special Instructions section of this job posting.
Job details are sourced from the employer's original posting.
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Louisiana State University is a public research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.