Leconte Group - Postbaccalaureate research assistant (2026-2027)

We have recently received funding from the NIH to hire a recently graduated student as a full-time research assistant in the 2026-2027 school year! We are now actively looking for a senior or recently graduated student who can take on this role.

This is a great opportunity for a student looking to build research skills and/or explore research full time!

We will host an Information Session for the position on 12/2 in Nucleus East 208 from 12:25-1:15. If you weren't able to make it, here's a recording of the information covered: link

To apply, please fill out this application before January 2. Thanks!

If you want to be emailed updates about this process, you can sign up here!

What kind of research will the researcher be doing?

The researcher will join the luciferase subgroup, which seeks to engineer luciferases as imaging tools for biomedical applications. On this project, we apply high-throughput approaches to try to make new discoveries that will allow us to create the next generation of imaging tools. You can learn more at the information session (see video above!).

What are the job responsibilities for this position?

These are the core tasks of this position:

Execute an independent laboratory research project with modest supervision
Assist with writing of manuscripts and grants
Mentor and train undergraduate research assistants, facilitate lab culture
Assist in lab management tasks such as inventory management, organizing group meetings, receiving and storing packages, etc.

What experience is required for this job?

Required: Completed degree (prior to start date) in a relevant field (e.g. Biochemistry, Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Biology)
Required: 1-3 years of lab experience with some project leadership experience
Desired: Experience mentoring or tutoring undergraduate students

What skills are required for this job?

We appreciate that this job will likely require some training! These are the skills that we would like an applicant to have coming into this position, but we do not expect any candidate will necessarily have all of the skills listed. So we strongly encourage applicants who have most (but not all) of the skills to apply:

Required: Basic technical proficiency in laboratory techniques with a capacity to learn new skills and independently execute them efficiently
Desired: Ability to use (or interest in learning to use) computational data analysis tools such as Python or R
Required: Pays strong attention to detail (understands documentation of lab processes using a laboratory notebook, stores and manages materials and data appropriately, can execute protocols without making errors)
Required: A basic understanding and capacity for experimental design in relevant fields, especially understands the use of controls to validate results
Required: Can read and analyze scientific literature in related fields.
Desired: Familiar with methods and approaches to identifying relevant scientific literature independently, possesses effective skills for managing literature surveys
Required: Capacity to write scientific manuscripts and grants with supervision/assistance. Demonstrated ability to write scientifically (both summarizing scientific literature and proposing new experiments)
Required: Works well in a collaborative environment
Desired: Able to write and disseminate clear protocols
Required: Following departmental safety training, performs work according to established safety protocols

When does the job start and stop?

The actual start and finish dates are somewhat flexible. Roughly speaking, we have funding for about a full year. We would like the applicant to start sometime during Summer 2026 and continue for about a year after that.