Research Specialist, Infectious Disease Monitoring

• Job Number: 24042

• Functional Area: Research - Scientific

• Department: Media Lab

• School Area: Architecture & Planning

• Employment Type: Full-time Temporary (Hybrid)

• Employment Category: Exempt

• Visa Sponsorship Available: No

• Schedule:

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  Job Description

RESEARCH SPECIALIST, INFECTIOUS DISEASE MONITORING, Media Lab, to join the Sculpting Evolution research group led by Professor Kevin Esvelt and assist in organizing and carrying out a range of experiments for the Nucleic Acid Observatory (NAO), with the goal of improving and validating metagenomic protocols and implementing an active biosurveillance system. Responsibilities include preparing metagenomic libraries of biosurveillance samples (from wastewater, swabs, and other sources) for use with existing sequencing technologies; iterating on protocols to improve viral recovery from these samples; and routinely processing incoming samples as part of the group’s ongoing monitoring efforts. In addition to molecular biology and sequencing skills, this job also calls for careful recordkeeping and data collection. A full job description is available at https://www.media.mit.edu/about/job-opportunities/.

Job Requirements

REQUIRED: bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, such as biology, biological engineering, or analytical chemistry; at least four years of experience with standard biological assays and molecular biology techniques; experience with library preparation for high-throughput sequencing (two years of experience preferred); and strong communication skills. Practical experience in one or more fields supporting the group’s primary research interests required, including metagenomics, virology, microbiology; environmental DNA; wastewater-based epidemiology; and long-read sequencing. PREFERRED: master’s degree in a relevant field; experience in two or more fields supporting the group’s primary research interests; experience working with human wastewater and/or respiratory swab samples or otherwise working in BSL2+ conditions; experience collecting samples from human subjects; and proficiency with bioinformatics, statistics and data visualization, and/or lab automation. Job #24042This is a one-year appointment with the possibility of extension based on funding and the course of research.5/15/24