Update: April 19 2022: we are no longer accepting applications for this position.

The Carini lab is looking for an undergraduate intern to assist our technicians and students with lab maintenance and research! This a paid position that requires you to be enrolled as an undergraduate at the University of Arizona. We’ll be accepting applications until April 18, 2022, with a start date in late April or early May. We’ll hire someone who can work through the summer and through the ‘22-’23 academic year or longer. It’s been over a year since we hired for a similar position, so this is an exciting and somewhat rare opportunity to join our team. After onboarding, you’ll start by working with a mix of in-person and remote guidance on a combination of lab upkeep projects.

About the Job

You’ll be acclimated to how our lab functions by washing dishes, receiving & shelving orders, preparing the occasional outbound shipment, and other general lab upkeep. You’ll have some other infrequent administrative duties related to lab inventory, organization, and keeping up with safety requirements. These responsibilities will lay the foundation for you to be an active contributor to the research in our lab group and give you time to acclimate to how we do things. Longer-term, we want to teach you how to perform experiments, collect data, and contribute to our publications.

As you progress, you’ll learn a variety of lab skills as needed, including how to prepare bacterial growth media and grow cultures, revive microbes from frozen stocks, work with cultures on petri plates and in broth, count cells using flow cytometry, extract and quantify DNA, conduct PCR and run electrophoresis gels. You’ll also be taught how to interpret the data you collect. (But note: we don’t expect you to do all of these things without supervision right away—you’ll be paired with someone for research projects, and your responsibilities (and confidence!) will grow over time).

You might not have worked in a lab before. We’re ready to take someone with little or no research experience and help them find their footing as they begin their research career. We’ll set your direction and then let you take ownership, ask questions, make decisions, fail, right the ship, and see things through. We know you are here to learn, and we expect that you’ll make mistakes. You’ll be able to communicate clearly with your colleagues, work across several different projects, and lend a helping hand when needed. You’ll love to do research and will be excited to check on your experiments (even if the results are hard fought and experiments don’t always work). You understand that research requires attention to detail and meticulous organized notetaking. Your ability to communicate clearly and a strong track record of meticulous, considerate work speaks volumes.

Our lab is in the Keating building on the North side of campus. The work for this position will require that you work in-person in a large lab space shared with four other research groups. You’ll need to adhere to all COVID-19 safety procedures as they may be implemented by the University. You’ll be supervised by a combination of in-person, asynchronous and/or remote communication mechanisms. You’ll need to have reliable transportation to and from the building. We’re located right at the end of the streetcar line.

As an undergraduate, your primary responsibility is your coursework—full stop. We understand that and offer flexibility around your schedule. You’ll be able to work up to 20 h per week at $13.00 per hour. As you take on more responsibility, we’ll extend your hours and pay accordingly on a semester-by-semester basis.

We strongly encourage candidates of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. We believe the best science occurs when people from varied backgrounds come together to solve problems. This means we want a diverse team built from different backgrounds, experiences, and identities—including yours. We put in the work that goes into building an inclusive, supportive place for you to do your best work and learning. We value people who have a sustainable, healthy relationship with their work and education.

How to Apply

Please submit a resume and a 1-page cover letter that directly addresses your specific interest in this position. Tell us about yourself, your favorite classes, about what you can bring to the Carini Lab, and about the Carini Lab’s role in your future. Tell us about what you’ve done and what excites you. We’ll also happily accept a traditional, well-constructed cover letter full of personal touches and that shows us how much you want this job.

We’re accepting applications until the end of the day April 18, 2022. There’s no benefit to submitting your application early, so take your time. Email your application materials as a single .pdf attachment to Dr. Paul Carini at paulcarini@arizona.edu. You’ll get a reply from Dr. Carini when your application is received.

What happens after you submit?

We expect to take a few weeks to review all applications. Here is how we review applications. You’ll hear from us by the end of April about advancement to the interview stage. Expect one interview, up to 30 minutes long, with your future colleagues. We’ll send you our questions in advance so there are no surprises.

We appreciate you giving us that consideration, and we promise to give you our full attention in return. We look forward to hearing from you!