Part-Time Research Assistant Positions – Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology

Part-time research assistant positions are available in the Esker Lab, supporting laboratory and field work for the plant disease epidemiology program. The lab employs various methods to manage plant diseases, using facilities at Buckhout Laboratory on the University Park campus and conducting field trials across Pennsylvania.

Requirements

• Fungal culture media preparation
• Microbiological culturing and isolation of soil and seed-borne fungal pathogens
• Enumeration of fungal colonies
• Microscopic evaluation and identification of fungal cultures
• Assist with laboratory assays, including pathogenicity tests and fungicide sensitivity studies
• Assist with DNA extraction and quality check of fungal isolates from different genomic projects
• Collect soil and plant samples from field and greenhouse experiments and provide necessary assistance with sample processing before analysis/evaluation
• Perform germination tests for corn, soybean, and wheat seed samples from field trials
• Assess plant diseases from research studies conducted in the field, as well as in greenhouse or growth chamber trials
• Data entry of field and laboratory experiments