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

Research Assistant

US-OR-Portland

Requisition ID: 2026-38897
Position Category: Research
Job Type: Research
Position Type: Regular Full-Time
Posting Department: SM.BEHN Administration
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 (occasional evenings, weekends, and holidays to meet project requirements)
Posting Hours: Typically 9:00am - 5:30pm
HR Mission: School of Medicine
Drug Testable: No

Department Overview

The department of Behavioral Neuroscience performs cutting edge research and teaching focused on the neuroscience of behavior. The goal of the Wolf lab is to understand synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens and related circuits that underlies this persistent vulnerability. We use the 'incubation of drug craving' model in which cue-induced drug craving in rats progressively intensifies (incubates) over the first weeks of abstinence from drug self-administration and then remains high for months.

Function/Duties of Position

• Handling rats and implementing experimental protocols (e.g., weighing, giving injections/infusions, conducting surgical procedures, preparing for and conducting intravenous drug self-administration experiments, collecting data, and performing histology and immunohistochemistry).
• Handling and breeding rats, and implementing experimental protocols required for maintenance of the breeding colony.
• Recordkeeping, data organization and data management (e.g., experimental records, lab notebooks, drug logs, data entry, data checking, data summary, data analysis, data graphing).
• Performing some lab management duties (e.g., coordinating schedules, ordering rats) and training and functional guidance of volunteers, summer students, new graduate students and new RAs.
• Maintenance/ordering of laboratory equipment and supplies, and maintaining of inventories.
• Assistance in maintaining equipment.
• Writing assignments, database searches, lab meetings, and special assignments related to preparation of posters, manuscripts, reports, grant applications, regulatory documentation and compliance.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's in relevant field; OR
• Associate's AND 3 years of relevant experience; OR
• 4 years of relevant experience; OR
• Equivalent combination of training and experience.
• Research experience in neuroscience or biology laboratory.
• Experience handling rats or mice.
• Must be able to independently perform a variety of procedures and apply specialized knowledge based on experience.
• Must understand experimental protocols so that unusual or unexpected outcomes can be identified without continuous close supervision.
• Must work collaboratively with other lab personnel.
• Innovation and problem solving required.
• Ability to assume independent responsibility for designing and executing assigned research studies.

Preferred Qualifications

• Rodent intravenous drug self-administration.
• Rodent survival surgery, including stereotaxic procedures.
• Histology, immunohistochemistry, microscopy.
• Research design and statistics.

Additional Details

Usually Monday - Friday, 9:00am-5:30 pm; however, some weekend and holiday work will be necessary to meet project requirements.

Job requires contact with animals for several hours a day in areas where animals are housed.