Agrilife Research
Postdoctoral Research Associate
College Station, TX · Contract
Sponsorship not specified$12k-$15kDetected 8 days ago
Data AnalysisComputer VisionStatisticsBioinformaticsPCRCRISPRMolecular BiologyResearchExperimental DesignCommunicationPublic Speaking
About the role
- With over 5,000 employees and a presence in every county across the state, Texas A&M AgriLife is uniquely positioned to improve lives, environments and the Texas economy through education, research, extension and service.
Responsibilities
- Design, conduct, and troubleshoot experiments evaluating gene drive efficiency, DNA repair pathway usage, and transgene removal in Drosophila melanogaster and Aedes aegypti.
- Generate and evaluate CRISPR/Cas9-based constructs, guide RNAs, donor plasmids, direct-repeat systems, and gene drive braking strategies.
- Perform genetic crosses, embryo injections or injection preparation, transgenic line screening, fluorescence-based phenotyping, and molecular validation of repair outcomes.
- Develop, maintain, and characterize transgenic insect lines for studies of gene drive and transgene removal.
- Maintain accurate experimental records, analyze quantitative genetic and molecular data, prepare figures and summaries, and present findings to the principal investigator and research team.
- Prepare and contribute to manuscripts, progress reports, grant-related documents, conference abstracts, and presentations.
- Assist with general laboratory operations, training of students or staff, maintenance of insect stocks and research materials, compliance documentation, and other duties necessary to support the research program.
- Experimental Design and Execution
- Conduct controlled crosses, population studies, inheritance assays, and phenotypic screening to assess drive transmission, and transgene excision.
- Manuscript, Grant, and Collaborative Research Support
Requirements
- Doctoral training should include substantial research experience in molecular genetics, genome engineering, insect genetics, DNA repair, vector biology, or a related area relevant to the position.
- Ability to work with genetically modified insects or other laboratory model organisms in accordance with biosafety and containment requirements.
- Strong written and oral communication skills, including the ability to contribute to manuscripts, presentations, reports, and grant-related materials.
Nice to have
- molecular cloning, functional genomics, transgenesis, population genetics, or biosafety practices for genetically modified organisms.
- Training or coursework in quantitative genetics, bioinformatics, genomic data analysis, statistics, or computational analysis of sequencing/genotyping data is also preferred.
- Experience conducting molecular genetics, genome engineering, or functional genomics research in an academic, government, or industry laboratory setting.
- Experience designing, cloning, and validating plasmid constructs, donor templates, guide RNAs, or related genome-editing reagents.
- Experience performing molecular biology techniques such as PCR, genotyping, gel electrophoresis, Sanger sequencing analysis, and sequence validation.
- Experience collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and documenting experimental data accurately and independently.
- Experience preparing scientific reports, presentations, manuscripts, or grant-related materials.
- Experience working in a collaborative research environment and communicating results to a principal investigator, laboratory team, or external collaborators.
Skills
- Skill in molecular biology techniques, including PCR, genotyping, cloning, sequencing analysis, and construct validation.
- Ability to analyze quantitative data, prepare figures, summarize findings, and communicate results clearly to scientific audiences.
- Ability to work collaboratively with faculty, staff, students, and external collaborators.
- Knowledge of Drosophila melanogaster, or other vector/model insect systems.
- Knowledge of molecular genetics, genome engineering, insect genetics, and DNA repair mechanisms.
- Knowledge of CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing, homology-directed repair, end joining, and single-strand annealing concepts.
- Ability to analyze inheritance patterns, gene conversion outcomes, transgene excision, indel formation, and related molecular data.
- Skill in analyzing genome-editing outcomes using sequencing-based or genotyping-based approaches.
- Ability to mentor or train students, technicians, or junior laboratory personnel.
- Knowledge of institutional biosafety practices related to genetically modified organisms and arthropod containment.
Compensation
- 12-15 days of annual paid holidays
Benefits
- Health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M AgriLife contributing to employee health and basic life premiums
- Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month
- Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
- Employee Wellness Initiative for Texas A&M AgriLife
- Required Education:
- Preferred Education:
- Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory
Company info
- Click here to learn more about how you can be a part of AgriLife and make a difference in the world!
Apply directly at Agrilife Research →Create a free account for alerts like thisView Agrilife Research immigration profile
This listing is sourced directly from Agrilife Research's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.