Research Assistant

Job Overview

The Research Assistant role at the Department of Family Medicine, United Arab Emirates University, involves contributing to experimental design, troubleshooting, and enhancement of laboratory procedures. This position requires applying a range of molecular biology techniques and performing comprehensive bioinformatics analyses to advance research objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Participate actively in experiment design and laboratory protocol optimization.
• Execute routine molecular techniques such as nucleic acid extraction, PCR/qPCR, gel electrophoresis, and cloning procedures.
• Assess gene expression at the RNA level to evaluate gene regulation mechanisms.
• Analyze sequencing data including quality control, alignment, normalization, and batch effect correction.
• Detect differentially expressed genes among different conditions and cell types.
• Characterize cellular heterogeneity and identify rare cell populations through single-cell analysis.
• Conduct pathway analysis and gene set enrichment studies.
• Integrate diverse molecular, genomic, and clinical datasets for comprehensive interpretation.
• Visualize gene expression data using heatmaps, UMAP/t-SNE, and other plotting techniques.
• Interpret experimental outcomes to support biological and clinical insights.
• Maintain precise and compliant laboratory documentation including electronic notebooks.
• Share research progress in lab meetings and contribute to manuscript writing and dissemination.
• Stay updated with current advances in bioinformatics and molecular biology fields.
• Independently perform validated molecular and cellular biology experiments.
• Conduct assays such as cell culture, protein expression analysis including Western blotting, ELISA, and immunofluorescence microscopy.
• Manage molecular laboratory equipment and sequencing technologies including PCR, RT-PCR, Sanger and next-generation sequencing platforms.
• Handle and process clinical and research specimens adhering to approved protocols and quality standards.
• Organize and submit experimental and clinical data to databases and supervisors accurately.
• Perform multi-level genomic data analysis including quality control, variant calling, and annotation.
• Develop and adapt data analysis pipelines using Python and R for automation and visualization.
• Use specialized tools like PLINK for population genetics and genotype–phenotype association studies.
• Produce detailed reports and figures for internal, publication, and funding purposes.

Qualifications

Applicants must hold a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline; a Master’s or PhD is preferred.

Additional Details

Application deadline is 31/08/2026.