Research Specialist position at Algal Resources Collection

Algal Resources Collection, MARBIONC, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA

Description: The MARBIONC’s Algal Resources Collection (ARC) has an immediate opening for a Research Specialist position. The ARC specializes in the growth and maintenance of marine diatoms, flagellates and dinoflagellates that have been shown to be harmful in some way to aquatic life or human health (http://www.algalresourcescollection.com). The ARC mission statement is to provide superior, unique biological material from harmful algal species and provide services for the enhancement and development of the scientific research community. The collection houses over 800 living clones from over 70 unique species originating from around the globe, which are available to the research community for purchasing at a low cost.

The applicant will act as both Lab Manager and Curator responsible for all aspects related to the day-to-day management of the ARC. This includes contributing to the implementation of the high standard of the collection in terms of diversity and quality of the algal clones, their characterization (morphological, molecular, physiological and ecological), and maintenance of the ARC website and data base. Primary duties include the preparation and sterilization of culturing materials, periodic transfers of the cultures and the acquisition of new strains; preparing and processing nutrients, making media and harvesting algal material for study; assist in experiments, data collection and data management; contribute to the preparation of grant proposal, reports and manuscripts; assist in supervising graduate and undergraduate students as well as instructing part-time personnel and volunteers working at the laboratory with algal cultures; purchase, maintenance, and use of lab equipment and supplies;

Qualifications: Bachelor degree in Biology or related disciplines with at least 1 year of demonstrable experience in algal culturing and/or microbiological techniques. Master in related field is preferred. Experience in molecular biology techniques (e.g., DNA extraction, PCR and Sequencing) and phylogenetic analysis is preferred. Notions of microalgae taxonomy and culturing although not mandatory is desirable

Application: Please visit our online application site at https://jobs.uncw.edu/postings/8707 for further information about this position and to submit your application, including a cover letter, current resume, and the names, phone and email address number of three references. Search will remain open until July 28, 2017.