Part-Time Research Assistant – Metagenomics & Microbial Ecology

About the role

We are looking for a part-time Research Assistant to support a project on the metagenomic study of microbial communities involved in wood decay. The role is based in the Sustainable Resources laboratory at the School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and involves 14 hours of work per week.

Key responsibilities

• Maintain laboratory safety standards and manage purchase and bookkeeping tasks.
• Conduct field surveys of wood structure decay.
• Perform DNA isolation and quality control.
• Prepare samples for metagenomic sequencing.
• Carry out bioinformatics analysis of sequencing data.
• Cultivate and isolate pure microbial strains.
• Execute in-vitro wood decay assays.
• Create and curate a microbiome database.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences, Biotechnology or a related discipline.
• Proficiency in general molecular biology laboratory techniques with experience in fungal research and aseptic culturing.
• Experience in bioinformatics, especially genomic or metagenomic data analysis, is advantageous.
• Good written and verbal communication skills.

Required skills

• Molecular biology techniques
• Fungal culturing and aseptic techniques
• DNA isolation and quality control
• Metagenomic sequencing preparation
• Bioinformatics analysis of genomic data
• Microbiome database creation