Job Openings for Undergraduate Research

We are recruiting one undergraduate student for a research position Spring 2026, and we are also looking to hire a undergraduate student for 5-8 hours per week as a laboratory assistant. 

It is possible that an undergraduate research opportunity (due to an unexpected research need in the lab) will become available closer to the start of the fall or spring semester. Due to this circumstance, we will always encourage interested undergraduates to fill out the Google Form, even in the absence of open positions. The applications will be considered for one calendar year after they are completed, including for future posted opportunities.  A new Google Form will be posted on March 1 and October 1 for the Fall and Spring semesters, respectively. 

Google Form for Undergraduate Research in Spring 2026 (link).

If you would like to view the questions ahead of time, this Google Form has all four sections of questions for easy viewing (link). It is for viewing only, and any application submitted through this form will not be reviewed. 

Google Form for Undergraduate Lab Assistant in Spring 2026 (link).

Research Position for Spring 2026

Graduate Mentor Name: Adam Wier

Project Name: Learning the Language of Nucleic Acid Reactivity to Harness Covalent Technologies for RNA

Discipline of Undergraduate Student Project: Chemistry and/or Biochemistry

Overall Project Description:

While most drugs bind proteins, endogenous RNA is an untapped supply of disease-targets in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Because of RNA’s dynamic motion, most drug discovery campaigns fail to find potent and selective candidate small-molecules. We believe that RNA drug-discovery will be advanced through covalent ligands, small-molecules that possess an electrophile to form a hardy covalent bond with their target-of-interest. In this project, we are answering the following questions: 1) What functional groups are reactive, selective, or inert with the nucleophiles present on RNA? and 2) How does this reactivity change as the structural context increases from nucleobases to nucleotides to RNA?

This project requires perspectives in organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, physical/computational chemistry, and biochemistry. We are recruiting an undergraduate to learn analytical chemistry, specifically liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Skills You Will Learn:

-       Assay design of electrophile reactions with nucleobases, nucleotides, and RNA

-       Operating and troubleshooting HPLCs and a shared LC-MS instrument

-       LC-MS and HPLC analysis of reaction products

No prior lab experience is necessary. Instead, we are looking for someone who is curious and driven to understand RNA biology through the lens of a chemist.

Lab Assistant Position for Spring 2026

Research Technician Mentor Name: Caleb Nicholas

Discipline of Undergraduate Student: Biochemistry

Overall Description: A research technician supports the lab by preparing materials, running experiments, maintaining equipment, and assisting with lab managerial tasks. The lab assistant will work approximately 5-8 hours per week with the research technician, and they will assist with routine tasks, such as preparing stocks, washing dishes, and complementing maintenance tasks. It is important to note that this is not a research position, and the pay will be $15/hour.

No prior lab experience is required, and all necessary skills will be taught through hands-on instruction in lab.