Be part of our team!
Join The Dra. Imilce lab
We are looking for highly motivated individuals interested in solving cool and exciting research questions.
Do you want to be part of our team? Please see the list of positions below and get in touch to apply.
Research Assistant
Are you someone motivated who loves to do experiments, data analysis, and think about the next steps? Do you also enjoy working on a team to push science forward? If so, we are looking for you!
Required education skills:
Bachelor's or Masters in Biology from an accredited university
Additional skills and expertise:
The ideal candidate must: 1) have research experience in molecular/cellular biology and microbiology techniques, 2) be fluent in Spanish and English, and 3) be computer literate with intermediate to advanced Microsoft 365 and Google Suite skills. It will be a plus if the candidate has previous experience working with Drosophila and imaging experience, but this is not necessary.
Undergraduate Researcher
Are you an undergraduate student looking to pursue research experience? Are you excited about what it is to be doing experiments in a research lab setting with other team members? Do you want to have an opportunity to develop your technical and critical thinking skills? If this is you, please contact us.
Required education skills:
Be enrolled in a B.Sc. program within the Natural Sciences field.
Graduate Students
We are actively recruiting talented, highly motivated, and excited grad students to join us!
Required:
To join our lab as a graduate student you need to be part of the Graduate Program at the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras.
If you are already enrolled and are looking to rotate and/or join our lab please contact us!
Not a graduate student but are interested in applying?
All the info about the Graduate Program at the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras can be found HERE and HERE
Postdoc
We are actively recruiting a talented and highly motivated postdoc to join our team! The ideal candidate will have a Ph.D. and expertise in molecular and cellular molecular, genetics, microbiology, animal physiology, or other related fields. Experience working with Drosophila is a plus. Language proficiency of English and Spanish* is a plus.
Our laboratory seeks to understand how host-microbial interactions influence the health and aging of the organism. We will be using Drosophila melanogaster intestinal stem cells as a model system. Using this system we will manipulate both the intestinal stem cells and its gut microbiome to measure the effect of these manipulations on tissue physiology and aging of the animal. We are also interested in identifying interventions that promote the healthspan of the animal.
This position is ideal for someone who's motivated, persistent, a team player, and wants to push science forward. The position is available immediately; however, the start date is flexible.
Interested candidates should send a cover letter describing their research interests and goals, CV, and contact info of three references letters by email to imilce.rodriguez1@upr.edu
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FAQs
*Do I need to know Spanish to work at UPR Rio Piedras?
The Biology department at the College of Natural Sciences of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras provides a unique interdisciplinary research environment where a broad range of biology research interests -from molecules to human diseases to ecosystems- are combined. These research groups are led by a group of international Faculty where both Spanish and English are spoken. Therefore to do a postdoc here you should dominate English and have some basic Spanish knowledge (and if you don't know any Spanish, you should be excited to learn more Spanish).
For more info on the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras please go to uprrp.edu
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What about living in Puerto Rico?
Feel free to ask us anything about living on this beautiful island. In the meantime, please find some useful links about living in Puerto Rico.
"10 things to know before moving to Puerto Rico" - The Culture Trip (note: article is from 2017)
"The pros and cons of living in PR - living in Puerto Rico" (note: article is from 2015, somethings are outdated)​
Disclaimer: These articles do not represent the view of the UPRRP