Research Staff Assistant in the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute

• Job Type: Support Staff - Non-Union
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule:
• Building: Jerome L. Greene Science Center
• Salary Range: $54,000 - $54,000

Position Summary

Columbia University's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute unites world-class scientists across diverse academic disciplines to conduct groundbreaking research that transforms our understanding of the brain and its influence on the mind and behavior.

As a leading neuroscience institute, our mission is to decipher the mind and brain to better understand behavior. Our researchers are committed to foundational science, uncovering the principles that shape how the brain develops, functions, and recovers.

With more than 50 labs, the Zuckerman Institute serves as a hub for collaboration, bringing together Columbia's top scholars to drive research in bold new directions.

Located in Manhattanville, our state-of-the-art Jerome L. Greene Science Center provides an inspiring home for discovery in one of the world's most dynamic cities.

The laboratory of Dr. Richard Axel at the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute has an open full-time position for a Research Staff Assistant (lab technician). The Axel lab has expanded its research program to investigate how cuttlefish (a cephalopod similar to octopus) dynamically camouflage to their surroundings. Cuttlefish are able to camouflage within milliseconds by altering the color, pattern and texture of their skin, which is controlled by the brain. The Axel lab wishes to understand how cuttlefish create an internal representation of the visual world in the brain, and then transform this representation into an approximation of the visual world on the skin. The group is developing molecular tools, conducting behavioral experiments and performing advanced neural imaging.

The Research Staff Assistant will work closely with the postdoctoral fellow leading this project, and report directly to the Principal Investigator. The Research Staff Assistant will have the opportunity to participate in the vibrant intellectual community of the Axel laboratory located in the Jerome L. Greene Science Center on Columbia's Manhattanville campus. We seek highly motivated, skilled, and dynamic individuals who are enthusiastic about a career in science.

This is a full-time grant-funded role.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Under the direction of the PI and Postdoctoral Research Scientist, perform the following biological techniques: microinjection of cuttlefish embryos and molecular cloning and genotyping.
• Under the direction of the PI and Postdoctoral Research Scientist, assist in performing survival and non-survival surgeries, including surgical preparation.
• Under the direction of the PI and Postdoctoral Research Scientist, conduct animal behavioral experiments.
• Participation in laboratory meetings and planning sessions.
• Assisting with administrative and documentation tasks related to experiments.
• Other duties assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline is required or experience equivalent required.
• 2 years of experience and/or its equivalent is required.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.