Clinical Research Assistant at Oregon Health & Science University – Portland, Oregon

Clinical Research Assistant

US-OR-Portland

Requisition ID: 2026-38650
Position Category: Research
Job Type: Research
Position Type: Regular Full-Time
Posting Department: Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute (OCTRI)
Posting Salary Range: $23.18 - $33.02 per hour, with offer based on experience, education and internal equity
Posting FTE: 1.00
Posting Schedule: Monday - Friday
Posting Hours: 8:00am - 5:00pm
HR Mission: Research
Drug Testable: No

Department Overview

The Oregon Clinical Translational Research Institute (OCTRI) at OHSU is a catalyst for scientific collaboration, translation of biomedical advances into the community, innovation and research growth in Oregon and beyond. OCTRI's mission is to enhance the efficiency and quality of rigorously translating research ideas into impact. To accomplish our mission, our 80-90 employees spread across 13 teams provide a broad expanse of clinical and translational services that include training, funding, research support, and community engagement. OCTRI is part of the National Center for Translational Sciences (NCATS)-funded CTSA consortium that encompasses 60+ hubs around the country. Visit our website to learn more: octri.org.

The Clinical & Translational Research Center (CTRC) is both a major unit within the NIH-funded Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute (OCTRI) and a designated OHSU University Shared Resource (USR). It provides essential research infrastructure and experienced research staff for over 200 clinical research protocols and leverages over $30M in external grant funding annually. These include investigator-initiated and industry sponsored studies from a broad spectrum of research disciplines, including nutrition, weight regulation, sleep medicine, neurology, cognitive neurosciences, endocrinology, aging, pediatric genetic diseases, and complementary and alternative medicine. Many of these studies require complex, interrelated research services that cannot be performed elsewhere at OHSU, including early phase experimental therapeutic interventions, sleep and circadian isolation studies, and studies that require intensive safety monitoring and pharmacokinetic sampling.

Function/Duties of Position

Performing Analytical Assays

• Performing analytical assays including radioimmunoassays, ELISA and colorimetric assays on human research specimens.
• Following precise and detailed procedures for each assay type including quality control of assay performance.
• Depending on the assay, this can involve working with hazardous chemicals.
• Pulling and refiling samples in -80 C freezers for assays, research teams, and OCTRI Laboratory team members.
• Logging exact locations and status of samples within our laboratory information management system (BSI).
• Using a multimodal plate reader and Gen5 software for reading absorbance or fluorescence on microtiter plates and generating assay reports using BSI and excel.

Sample processing of clinical specimens and organization of the samples in our freezers

• Assisting with sample processing and storage.
• This requires the ability to process and prioritize clinical samples arriving at the lab competently.
• This entails the ability to interpret sometimes extremely complex processing manuals quickly and efficiently, determining the appropriate processing requirements and generation of sample labels from our laboratory information management system (BSI).
• Subject and sample data are entered into the software to track sample number and location.
• The extremely large number of samples processed (35,000/year) and stored in the laboratory freezers (12 x -80C) requires great attention to detail to ensure effective sample tracking and retrieval.

Processing PBMC for research protocols and biorepositories

• Assisting with harvesting peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from human blood samples.
• There are many different research protocols and biorepositories that require harvesting PBMCs from blood while working in the biosafety cabinet.
• This entails the ability to follow complex processing SOPs quickly and efficiently.

Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's in relevant field; OR
• Associate's AND 2 years of relevant experience; OR
• 3 years of relevant experience; OR
• Equivalent combination of training and experience.
• Must be organized, detail-oriented and capable of following scientific protocols.
• Strong computer skills and the ability to interact effectively with other staff members and other project/study staff.
• Ability to analyze problems, determine a course of action, review with staff and implement the changes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree with a focus in biological related disciplines.

• Previous laboratory experience conducting analytical assays using micropipettes and working with radioactive materials.

• Experience working with a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).

Additional Details

Ability to work safely with human clinical samples. The work environment carries risk of exposure to human tissue/fluids and radiation. Significant use of computers, copiers, multi-line phones, and fax.