TEMPORARY SUMMER PROJECT ASSISTANT
: Job Details :

This is a FT Non-Exempt, non-benefitted position from June 2, 2025 to July 31, 2025. The anticipated hiring range for this position is $28 per hour. Hiring offers will be determined based on the final candidate's qualifications and experience.

Position Summary The Research on Aquatic Disease lab (RAD Lab) at the Cary Institute is pursuing questions on the drivers and consequences of infectious disease in aquatic ecosystems and needs an hourly summer research assistant to conduct laboratory experiments. This individual will run a large experiment evaluating the effects of resource availability and energy reserves on host infection and pathogen load.

Essential Responsibilities The individual will be responsible for: culturing zooplankton hosts (Daphnia), fungal parasites (Metschnikowia), and algal resources (Ankistrodesmus); designing and implementing the protocol (with input from the PI); and recording, cleaning, and analyzing resulting data. The individual will also be responsible for building a complementary mathematical model to generate predictions. The individual will be largely independent, and will communicate weekly (or on an as needed basis) with the PI (Dr. Tara Stewart Merrill) and additional collaborators.

Required Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Disease Ecology or a related field
• Minimum one (1) year of experience in culturing Daphnia, algae, and fungal parasites
• Minimum one (1) year of experience with diagnosing infection via dissecting and compound microscopy
• Experience conducting experimental life table assays and infection assays
• General understanding of Dynamic Energy Budget models

Required Skills

• Advanced statistical approaches including (but not limited to) linear and non-linear mixed effects models, as well as Bayesian techniques
• Ability to manage data and run statistics in the program R
• Strong writing skills

Working Conditions

• This is a temporary non-benefitted position
• The standard workweek is 35 hours, Monday through Friday

Closing Date: May 15, 2025

To Apply:

Please submit one document that includes a cover letter, resume and the names and full contact information (including e-mail address) for three professional references.The Cary Institute is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. It is the policy of the Institute to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, familial status, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.