Laboratory Research Operations Assistant
- Employer
- University of Virginia
- Location
- Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
View more categoriesView less categories
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Institution Type
- Four-Year Institution
Job Details
The Connelly Laboratory at the University of Virginia is seeking a highly motivated, detail-oriented Laboratory Research Operations Assistant to join our interdisciplinary research team. This position is ideal for candidates interested in gaining hands-on experience at the intersection of molecular biology, neuroscience, and animal behavior.
The Connelly Lab conducts cutting-edge research in translational neuroepigenetics, with a focus on how DNA methylation and gene regulation shape brain development, behavior, and health across the lifespan. Our work integrates molecular biology, genomics, imaging and animal models to understand how early-life experiences—particularly birth interventions—impact the oxytocin system in mothers and offspring.
We are a well-funded, collaborative, and highly productive lab, offering opportunities for meaningful scientific contribution and professional development. Learn more at www.connellylab.com.
Position Overview
The Laboratory Research Operations Assistant will work closely with Professor Jessica Connelly and lab members to support both research execution and laboratory operations. This role combines molecular biology, imaging, and animal behavior research, and lab management, making it ideal for candidates seeking a broad and immersive research experience.
The successful candidate will play a key role in maintaining an active animal colony, generating molecular data, collecting imaging data and supporting experimental workflows, while also contributing to the overall functioning of a dynamic research environment.
Key Responsibilities
Maintain and manage a small animal breeding colony, including daily husbandry
Conduct and record behavioral observations and analyses
Assist with small animal surgical procedures
Perform tissue collection, processing, and biobanking
Isolate and analyze DNA and RNA from tissues and cells
Assist with cell culture and molecular biology workflows
Assist with confocal and other imaging modalities, including neuroimaging
Maintain accurate, detailed experimental records and ensure data quality
Manage laboratory inventory, reagents, and supplies
Ensure compliance with institutional animal care and safety protocols
Train and supervise undergraduate research assistants
Support general laboratory operations, including organization, maintenance, and workflow optimization
Contribute to manuscripts, grant preparation, and scientific presentations
Other duties as assigned
What We Offer
Direct mentorship from the PI and senior scientists
Opportunities for authorship on scientific publications
Experience contributing to grant writing and experimental design
Opportunities to present research at national and international conferences
- A collaborative, intellectually engaging lab environment
Minimum Qualifications
High school diploma or equivalent
At least 1 year of laboratory experience (including undergraduate research); Bachelor’s degree may substitute for experience
Bachelor’s degree in a life science discipline
Experience with rodent models and animal handling
Background in animal behavior analysis
Experience with dissection and/or small animal surgery
Familiarity with DNA/RNA extraction, qPCR, or molecular biology techniques
Experience with cell culture
Experience with neuroimaging pipeline design and analysis
Salary range: $19.00–$21.50/hour (commensurate with experience)
Physical Demands: This position can spend extensive periods of time standing and squatting while conducting experiments or caring for animals. Also requires keyboarding and other benchwork and animal procedures requiring fine finger manipulation.
This is a restricted position; continuation is dependent on funding and satisfactory performance.
This position is located in Charlottesville, Virginia. This is a full-time benefited position. For more information on the benefits at UVA, visit www.hr.virginia.edu/benefits.
Visa sponsorship is not available for this role
The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment. A completed pre-employment health screen is required for this position prior to employment.
Application Process:
Please apply online, and search for R0082682. Internal applicants may search and apply for jobs on the UVA Internal Careers website. Complete an application online with the following documents:
CV/Resume
Cover Letter
Upload all materials into the resume submission field, multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Alternatively, merge all documents into one PDF for submission. Applications that do not contain all the required documents will not receive full consideration. This position is open until filled.
References will be completed via UVA’s standardized process SkillSurvey. A total of five references will be requested via SkillSurvey during the final phase of the interview process. A minimum of three are required.
For information regarding the position or the application process, please contact Jessica Speth, Academic Recruiter, js9rk@virginia.edu.
The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.
Organization
In 1819, the University of Virginia established a new model for intellectual exchange and cross-disciplinary collaboration in higher education. Two hundred years later, as a major research institution, we continue to challenge conventions, lead with ingenuity and advance knowledge for the common good.
What began as an innovative idea has become one of the nation’s leading public research universities, with over 21,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UVA also has over 3,000 full-time faculty offering more than 400 degrees.
Each of the University’s eleven schools has its own distinctive mission, working together to garner consistently high rankings—including #2 Best Value Public College (Princeton Review, 2016), #3 Public University in the Nation (U.S. News & World Report, 2016), and #3 Best Value Among Public Colleges (Kiplinger’s, 2016).
As we invest in and strengthen our research capabilities, UVA seeks new faculty ready to uncover new insights, rewrite old rules and collaborate on intellectual discoveries.
RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS THAT CROSS DISCIPLINES
As an R1 institution, the University’s research centers, consortia and laboratories are on the leading edge of discovery and technology, offering collaborative spaces for students and faculty to solve global problems.
Our professors are recognized members of major national scholarly and professional organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Our faculty’s engagement in interdisciplinary research is being facilitated by new research institutes specializing in everything from big data to brain functioning, and by cluster hires across schools.
NATIONALLY RANKED HEALTH SYSTEM
UVA is also home to a nationally renowned academic medical center and the UVA Health System, which serves a three-part mission to treat patients, conduct translational research and train medical practitioners in a wide variety of disciplines.
Established as the nation’s 10th medical school in 1825, the institution has since grown to include a 612-bed hospital and a Level I trauma center, nationally recognized cancer and heart centers, a Children’s Hospital, and primary and specialty clinics throughout Central Virginia.
The UVA Medical Center is consistently ranked among the nation’s best hospitals by the U.S. News & World Report magazine and has been named among the top 25 percent in seven specialties.
INSPIRING STUDENTS, INSPIRED TEACHING
The vast majority of UVA students come from the top 10% of their high school class, as well as from all 50 states, over 142 countries and a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Despite their diversity, all UVA students share a love of learning and a drive to achieve.
One of the reasons students choose Virginia is our unique residential culture. At UVA, the community of students, faculty and staff personifies the Jeffersonian idea that living and learning are connected. The Academical Village was constructed to support a unique residential experience, with faculty living in the Pavilions, students occupying Lawn rooms and the world-famous Rotunda at its heart. The University’s residential culture continues to support this experience today—strengthened by students, faculty and staff rich in backgrounds, ideas and perspectives. Our unique culture is also paying dividends in innovation: UVA’s faculty have generated more than 130 patents since 2010.
Perhaps most importantly, faculty come to UVA knowing that instruction is as important as research, and they pride themselves on their many teaching awards. Our best professors look for ways to encourage, mentor and develop tomorrow’s leaders inside and outside the classroom.
LIFE IN CHARLOTTESVILLE
Living in Charlottesville you’ll find sophisticated restaurants, world-renowned wineries and breweries, cosmopolitan arts and music, friendly urban and suburban neighborhoods and a Piedmont landscape that has lured adventurous souls for centuries. No wonder the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research named Charlottesville the “happiest city in America” in 2014.
In addition to UVA and its health system, several major employers have facilities in Charlottesville, including State Farm, Northrop Grumman, the U.S. Department of Defense, GE and others. Charlottesville is also becoming a center for innovative start-up businesses. The University also actively helps spouses and partners of faculty members build their networks and pursue employment opportunities with a wide variety of area employers.
The University of Virginia is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply including veterans and individuals with disabilities.
- Telephone
- 434-985-4532
- Location
-
2420 Old Ivy
Charlottesvle
Virginia
22911-7433
United States
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