Description

Description
The HumanX Lab and the Sensory Technology Cluster at Dartmouth College invite applications for a Research Assistant II/III in an interdisciplinary, grant-funded program developing living cellular systems for olfactory and chemical sensing. The work combines mammalian cell engineering, olfactory receptor biology, quantitative fluorescence imaging, membrane-voltage measurement, and microelectrode-array (MEA) physiology to create biohybrid sensors that convert receptor activation into measurable electrical signals.

This is a hands-on technical research role focused on reproducible mammalian cell platforms, quantitative optical and electrical assays, and cultures for high-throughput MEA screening. The Research Assistant will be employed through the HumanX Lab under Prof. Tam Vu, work closely with postdoctoral researchers and collaborators, and receive scientific guidance from project biology advisors, including Dr. Michael Hoppa in the Department of Biological Sciences.

The successful candidate will independently execute and troubleshoot established workflows, contribute to experimental optimization and platform development, analyze routine quantitative results, and translate successful methods into clear, reproducible procedures. Scientific direction and major priorities will be set with project leadership. Substantial intellectual or experimental contributions may lead to authorship on resulting publications.

Core Responsibilities
       Maintain engineered HEK-derived and other mammalian cell lines using consistent, high-throughput, and automation-friendly culture practices where appropriate.

       Perform routine cell culture, transient transfection, stable cell-line generation, cryopreservation, recovery, and cell banking at volumes needed for sustained screening.

       Track passage number, cell-line provenance, contamination status, and experimental performance; optimize plating for fluorescence imaging and MEA experiments.

       Prepare plasmid DNA and perform routine molecular cloning, bacterial culture, construct verification, and archiving; maintain organized plasmid, receptor, reporter, and cell-line inventories.

       Generate and validate receptor-expressing cell lines with project scientists.

       Perform standardized live-cell calcium-imaging assays and quantify response reliability, responsive-cell fraction, amplitude, variability, and recovery across preparations and cell backgrounds.

       With training, perform genetically encoded voltage imaging, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), absolute membrane-voltage measurements, receptor-trafficking assays, and routine quantitative analysis.

       Prepare and plate cells on MEA devices, maintain experimental cultures, perform standardized recordings and quality-control analysis, and optimize preparation, plating, recording, and QC workflows as the high-throughput MEA system comes online.

       Coordinate matched optical and electrical measurements across cell preparations.

       Convert successful experiments into reproducible workflows and standard operating procedures; maintain common controls, cell banks, construct inventories, experimental metadata, and quality-control criteria.

       Document experiments in Benchling, provide concise Slack and weekly project updates, and plan work to meet scheduled deliverables.

Requirements

Required Qualifications
       Bachelor's degree in biology, neuroscience, biochemistry, bioengineering, molecular biology, computer science, computational biology, or a related discipline, plus 1-2 years of relevant laboratory research experience, or an equivalent combination of education and substantial research experience.

       Hands-on laboratory experience, strong attention to experimental detail, and the ability to manage multi-step experiments.

       Ability to execute established protocols independently, troubleshoot experimental problems, and communicate results, limitations, and proposed next steps clearly.

       Ability to maintain accurate electronic laboratory records, organized experimental materials, and reproducible handoffs across culture, imaging, and MEA workflows.

       Ability to perform routine quantitative analysis using established workflows and interpret results in the context of experimental goals.

       Ability to work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary research team.

Preferred Technical Experience
Experience in one or more of the following areas is useful. Applicants are not expected to have experience with every technique, and training will be provided.

       Mammalian cell culture, transfection, molecular cloning, or stable cell-line generation.

       Fluorescence microscopy, calcium imaging, genetically encoded fluorescent indicators, electrophysiology, or MEA-based assays.

       Image analysis, basic quantitative data analysis, laboratory automation or liquid-handling workflows, or basic scripting and computational tools for metadata and QC tracking.

Candidates who demonstrate independence across several technical areas, particularly when paired with computational literacy, may be considered for the higher-level classification.

Research Environment and Professional Development
The Research Assistant will join a collaborative environment spanning cellular neurobiology, synthetic biology, sensory biology, optical physiology, and bioengineering. The role offers experience with genetically encoded calcium and voltage indicators, FLIM, engineered excitable cells, receptor screening, and MEA-based cellular sensing. It is well suited to research staff seeking a substantive, longer-term technical role, with potential for expanded responsibility as the platform matures.

Position Details
       Full-time, grant-funded term staff position with an initial one-year appointment (12 months), renewable contingent on performance and continued program and Cluster funding.

       Final classification as Research Assistant II or III will depend on prior research experience and demonstrated technical independence.

       Employer: HumanX Lab under Prof. Tam Vu. Scientific advising: multiple project biology advisors, including Dr. Michael Hoppa.

       Primary work location: Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, in laboratory space designated by HumanX, with scientific collaboration with the Hoppa Laboratory as needed.

       The role involves unpublished, pre-publication research and requires professional discretion and adherence to Dartmouth confidentiality and intellectual-property policies.

Application Instructions
Email a resume or CV, a brief description of relevant research experience and interests, and contact information for references to cihost@dartmouth.edu.

Review begins immediately and continues until the position is filled.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Dartmouth College is an equal opportunity employer under federal law. We prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, marital status, or any other legally protected status. Applications are welcome from all.

Dartmouth is committed to accessibility for its community. If you are an applicant with a disability and would like to request a reasonable accommodation to aid in the job application and/or interview process, please email ADA@Dartmouth.edu with the subject line "application accommodations" and include the job number or title.