Research Assistant or Senior Research Assistant

Research Assistant or Senior Research Assistant

US-OR-Portland

Requisition ID: 2026-38922
Position Category: Research
Job Type: Research
Position Type: Regular Full-Time
Posting Department: SM. Cell, Developmental & Cancer Biology
Posting Salary Range: RA $23.18 - $33.02, or Sr RA $23.32 - $36.18 per hour, with offer based on experience, education and internal equity
Posting FTE: 1.00
Posting Schedule: Monday - Friday, occasional evenings/weekends as needed
Posting Hours: variable, typically 8:30am - 6pm
HR Mission: School of Medicine
Drug Testable: No

Department Overview

The mission of the department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology at OHSU is to improve our basic understanding of biological mechanisms relevant to human health and disease. The department is composed of 25 faculty with research spanning mechanisms of cellular crosstalk, epigenetic regulation, cell signaling, and immune activation across cancer, infection, and other disease pathologies.

Function/Duties of Position

A Research Assistant or Sr Research Assistant position is available in the lab of Dr. Katelyn Byrne at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute in the exciting field of cancer immunology. The Byrne Lab focuses on uncovering factors regulating T cell responses against cancer to inform the design of next generation cancer immunotherapies. We use genetically engineered mouse models of pancreatic cancer and cutting-edge imaging platforms to deeply investigate mechanisms of tumor-immune crosstalk and perform preclinical immunotherapy trials.

The Research Assistant or Sr Research Assistant will work under the supervision of Dr. Byrne and senior lab staff to provide technical support for ongoing research projects. Responsibilities will include:

• Animal husbandry and mouse colony maintenance.
• Animal dosing and monitoring (i.e., injections, blood collection) for preclinical immunotherapy trials.
• Processing of tissue samples from mice.
• Molecular and cell biology assays, such as lentiviral transduction, immunohistochemistry and cyclic immunofluorescence staining.
• Immunological assays, such as primary lymphocyte isolation, multiparameter flow cytometry, T cell culture, and ELISA.
• Data analysis and presentation at lab meetings.
• Procurement, preparation and organization of common lab reagents.
• Lab house-keeping tasks.

Required Qualifications

Research Assistant

• Bachelors in a relevant field; OR
• Associates and 3 years of relevant experience; OR
• 4 years of relevant experience; OR
• Equivalent combination of training and experience.

Senior Research Assistant

• Bachelor's in relevant field and 1 year of relevant experience; OR
• Equivalent combination of training and experience.

Required for Both

• Experience with cell and molecular biology wetlab techniques.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Independent problem-solving ability.
• Excellent interpersonal communication and time management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Coursework in immunology and/or cancer biology.
• 1+ year prior research experience.
• Experience with animal handling and immunological techniques.

Additional Details

Work is generally 40 hours per week during normal working hours, however, some evening and weekend work may be necessary.

Additional safety training will be required to work with cell lines/ infectious bacteria or viruses/ working with in a BSL-2 environment. Working with laboratory animals is required, as well as with human blood samples.

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