Work Study Employment - Lab Assistant for Biology's Teaching Labs in the ISB

Thanks for your interest in our ISB BioLabs Lab Assistant Team!  This is a great opportunity to become part of a small, supportive group that helps keep our teaching labs running smoothly.

Lab Assistants work behind the scenes to support the day-to-day preparation of a wide range of Biology lab courses.

Typical duties include preparing materials for labs, setting up and breaking down exercises, cleaning and organizing workstations, pipetting reagents, labeling aliquots, refilling pipette tip boxes, preparing items for sterilization, washing glassware, preparing simple solutions, autoclaving waste, helping with routine safety checks such as flushing eyewash stations, attending weekly meetings and training sessions, and assisting with other related tasks as needed (every day is different!)

You will work closely with Biology Department teaching facilities staff and gain hands-on experience in lab preparation, organization, and safe laboratory practices.

 

Scheduling:  Shifts must be at least 2 hours long. ___________________________________________
Once finalized for the semester, you will be expected to keep the same weekly schedule.

To apply, you must be available for shifts on one or more of the following days:
Monday       (Mornings)
Tuesday:     (Mornings)
Wednesday: (Mornings and/or Afternoons)
Friday:          (Mornings and/or Afternoons)
 

Hourly rate of pay: minimum wage
Shift: Mornings preferred most days, especially interested in Wednesday and Friday availability
Total hours per week:  At least 8-10 hours (depends on your Work Study allotment)
Work study funding is a requirement: Yes .... YES!

To be eligible: You Must have Work Study Funds already approved for Fall 2026 (via Financial Aid) and must provide evidence of your awarded amount to schedule an interview for the position, in the event you may be invited to do so.

Name of research group, project, or lab
ISB Biology Teaching Labs
Website
https://websites.umass.edu/lilresearch/
Why participate in this opportunity?

This is an opportunity to learn practical laboratory skills!
(can open doors to future positions in research labs, hospitals, and in industry) 

Logistics Information:
Field(s) of Study
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Biology
Developmental Biology
Microbiology
Neuroscience
Student ranks applicable
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Student qualifications

We Will Train You!  

Eligibility: _______________________________________________________________
You must already have Federal Work-Study funding approved for Fall 2026, through Financial Aid, to be considered for this position. To be eligible for an interview, you must provide documentation of your WS award.

No prior experience is required.  For most tasks, we will train you in everything you need to know. 

Required Qualifications:  
Experience in lab courses, or any level of lab work, is preferred. 
If possible, previous experience pipetting liquids and/or performing sterile culture would be excellent qualifications.

Must be able to communicate clearly, consistently arrive on time for planned meetings and group work sessions and have a strong willingness to learn new skills, and a serious interest in earning all of your work study award for the Fall semester (or nearly all is Ok). 

  1. Apply for this position through the PROPEL site. See propel.umass.edu
  2. For your application to be complete, you must also fill out This Form to indicate your availability (https://forms.gle/uiqgtvBN3pYeD6VAA )

    Preferred but not required: Sterile Technique Experience
    Preferred but not required: Experience culturing live cells.
    Preferred but not required: Ability to lift objects up to 20 pounds 

Reminder: Before any interview is able to be scheduled, you must provide documentation confirming your Fall 2026 Work Study Award. (A screen shot is fine).

Time commitment
8-10 h/wk
11-14 h/wk
15+ h/wk
Position Types and Compensation
Paid - Work-Study Required
Number of openings
3
Techniques learned

We're looking for students to assist with a variety of upper-level teaching labs for the Biology Department (and more!) - You will be most likely to do work to support Genetics Labs (BIO284), Gene & Genome analysis (BIO383H), Neurobiology and Physiology Lab (Biol 397N), and/or Bioimaging (BIO477H). 

You will likely be helping set up for DNA extractions, PCR amplification of DNA segments of interest, DNA gel electrophoresis, generating and characterizing yeast mutants, brightfield and fluorescence-based microscopy, and genotyping students' dogs to examine the genetics of canine coat color. [optional: If you have a dog you'd like to have students work with for this project in Genetics Lab, please let us know!]

You may have opportunities to assist in preparing for experiments with cell cultures (bacterial, yeast, insect, and/or immortalized mouse or human cancer cells), genotyping projects (yeast and Dogs), DNA transformation (getting cultured cells to express customized genetic material), and /or microscopy-based imaging of live and/or fixed cells. 

Project start
Fall Semester 2026, A week in advance may be possible if desired
Contact Information:
Mentor
Mary Packard
mpackard@umass.edu
ISB Biology Teaching Labs Support Technician/Instructor
Name of project director or principal investigator
Mary Packard
Email address of project director or principal investigator
mpackard@umass.edu
3 sp. | 20 appl.
Time commitment
8-10 h/wk (+2)
8-10 h/wk11-14 h/wk15+ h/wk
Field(s) of Study
Neuroscience (+4)
Biochemistry & Molecular BiologyBiologyDevelopmental BiologyMicrobiologyNeuroscience