The laboratory of Dr. Sora Shin at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC (https://fbri.vtc.vt.edu/people-directory/primary-faculty/shin.html) is seeking a Research Associate. The successful candidate will be expected to have proficiency in animal (mouse) handling as well as molecular biology techniques, including DNA/RNA technology, and confocal microscopy. Preference will be given to candidates who have demonstrated basic skills for stereotaxic surgery. The Research Associate is expected, with guidance and support from her or his supervisor, to contribute to the process of a project within his or her scientific discipline, as well as investigating, creating, and developing new methods for ongoing project advancement in the field of neuroscience studying. Please refer to the most recent publication in the Shin lab (Nature Communications, 2023): https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-42623-6

The duties of the role will include but may not be limited to the following:
• Performing stereotaxic surgery in mice.
• Performing animal behavioral tests with optogenetics and chemogenetics.
• Managing a breeding colony of transgenic mice.
• Molecular cloning, cell culture, and virus (e.g. AAV, Lenti) generation.
• Running quantitative PCR assays for gene expression and genotyping.
• Maintaining accurate and confidential records used for conducting and monitoring multiple studies.
• Participating in research team meetings to report on research progress, improve data collection processes, assist with problem-solving, and address protocol issues that arise during the course of research studies.
• Conducting literature searches to gather background information for use by the Principal Investigator (PI) and other research team members in developing, evaluating, completing, and submitting grant proposals and publications.
• Collecting and entering data from research participants per approved protocols, standard operating procedures, and experiment instructions.