Research Assistant II

Overall Purpose of the Job

To assist in the metagenomic analysis of DNA extracted from pollen in honey and bee bread collected in stingless bee nests in three landscapes of Taita Taveta County.

Specific Duties

•  To assort and record pollen samples collected from various field sites in Taita Taveta.
•  To assist in the extraction of DNA from pollen extracted from honey and collected in bee bread from various stingless bee hives in Taita Taveta.
•  To assist in sequence arrangements for DNA barcoding purposes.
•  To assist in DNA barcoding sequence analysis where needed.
•  To maintain clean molecular lab working spaces.

Requirements/Qualifications

•  Diploma in Biological Sciences.
•  At least 1 year of relevant experience in stingless bees related projects in Taita Taveta.
•  At least 3 months experience in stingless bee sample collection for molecular analysis and hand on in samples preparation for DNA extraction.

Other Desirable Attributes

•  Responsible for own job functional area and seeks approval from the supervisor.
•  Does not supervise the work of others but may assist other employees in their work.
•  Expected to handle minimal resources such as imprest.

Reporting

• This position reports to the Research Scientist, Environmental Health Theme