Research Associate

Job Type: Staff Job Description: Kansas City University is seeking a motivated and collaborative Research Associate to join the Dybedal Research Center on the Kansas City campus. This position offers an opportunity to participate in biomedical research focused on how epigenetic mechanisms influence gene expression during cardiac development, with relevance to congenital heart defects. A central responsibility for this position is supporting the Biomedical Research Methodology course. The Research Associate will play an active role in preparing laboratory materials, supporting instructional activities, and supervising, mentoring, and guiding students during laboratory sessions and course-related research projects. This position requires strong technical expertise in molecular biology and cell culture, as well as a commitment to student learning and laboratory education. Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Maintain and culture human and other mammalian cell lines under sterile conditions Perform routine cell culture techniques, including passaging, cryopreservation, thawing, and viability assessment Conduct molecular biology experiments, including RNA and DNA extraction, PCR, and quantitative RT-PCR Perform bacterial cloning workflows, including plasmid construction, transformation, colony screening, and plasmid preparation Support gene expression and RNA regulation studies using cell-based experimental systems Perform transfection and other gene delivery techniques as needed for experimental workflows Conduct DNA sequencing workflows and support sequence verification and analysis Interpret next-generation sequencing (NGS) data, including basic processing, quality assessment, and gene expression or transcriptomic analysis Process, organize, and analyze biological samples for molecular biology experiments Assist with experimental design, optimization, and troubleshooting of molecular and cell-based assays Perform data analysis for gene expression studies, including statistical analysis and interpretation of results Prepare figures, tables, and summaries for manuscripts, presentations, grant applications, research presentations and laboratory reports Maintain accurate and detailed laboratory notebooks, databases, protocols, and sample records Assist faculty with the Biomedical Research Methodology course, including preparation of reagents, cell culture materials, molecular biology reagents, cloning and sequencing materials, protocols, and instructional setups Supervise and guide students during laboratory sessions, providing hands-on instruction in cell culture, molecular biology, bacterial cloning, sequencing, and related laboratory techniques Assist with laboratory organization, inventory management, equipment maintenance, and preparation between teaching sessions Qualifications Master’s degree in a relevant scientific discipline, or a bachelor’s degree with two years of equivalent research experience Three or…