Research Assistant, Joslin Diabetes Center

About the Role

The Research Assistant is a full-time, on-site laboratory position in the Kostic Laboratory. This role studies how gut bacteria and bacterially derived extracellular vesicles influence the immune system in type 1 diabetes. The Research Assistant performs bench experiments spanning bacterial culture, cellular immunology, and animal studies, and is responsible for the accurate execution and documentation of experimental work.

Key Responsibilities

• Culture bacterial strains, including under anaerobic conditions, and purify bacterial extracellular vesicles (EVs) by tangential-flow filtration and size-exclusion chromatography.
• Characterize purified EVs by nanoparticle tracking analysis, electron microscopy, and endotoxin (LAL) testing, and prepare samples for mass spectrometry.
• Culture primary immune cells, including mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells and human monocyte-derived dendritic cells.
• Perform functional immunology assays, including cytokine ELISAs and multicolor flow cytometry, to measure immune and regulatory T cell responses.
• Support in vivo mouse studies, including scheduled dosing by oral gavage, weekly blood glucose monitoring, and accurate record-keeping.
• Harvest and process tissues, including spleen and pancreatic lymph nodes, for immunophenotyping, and assist with downstream flow cytometry and histology.
• Conduct all animal work in strict compliance with approved IACUC protocols and applicable institutional safety and regulatory requirements.
• Process human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors and donors with type 1 diabetes and perform cell-based assays in human samples.
• Maintain meticulous, contemporaneous records in an electronic laboratory notebook.
• Prepare reagents and buffers, manage sample inventory, and help maintain shared laboratory equipment.
• Organize, analyze, and summarize experimental data using standard analysis software (e.g., FlowJo, GraphPad Prism).
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Bachelor's degree in biology, biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, or a related scientific field, or equivalent knowledge and experience.
• Prior hands-on laboratory research experience is required, which may include undergraduate research, a thesis project, a post-baccalaureate research program, or a previous laboratory position.
• Demonstrated reliability, organization, and attention to detail, including a track record of taking ownership of assigned work and consistently meeting deadlines.
• Accurate, thorough record-keeping and clear written and verbal communication.
• Ability to work independently following training, and to work collaboratively within a small research team.
• Ability and willingness to work with mice, human blood samples, and biohazardous materials; training is provided.
• Pay Range: $15.00 - $24.00 per hour.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior mouse-handling experience (oral gavage, injections, blood collection, dissection).
• Experience with flow cytometry, cell or tissue culture, and sterile technique, or ELISA.
• Exposure to anaerobic bacterial culture, extracellular vesicle or nanoparticle characterization (NTA, electron microscopy), chromatography (FPLC/SEC), or standard molecular biology (PCR, Western blot).
• Familiarity with data-analysis tools such as FlowJo, GraphPad Prism, R, or Python.