Biomaterials Intern

BlueHalo invites applications for a full-time intern to join the Biological Materials and Processing Research Team at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH. The successful applicant will become an integral member of a biomaterials research group that includes scientists and engineers at all levels and from a range of personal and professional backgrounds.

The successful applicant will join a team that is responsible for identifying novel biosynthetic approaches for the development of unique biomaterials for Air Force-relevant applications. The team includes Materials Scientists, Engineers, Bioinformaticians, Chemists, and Microbiologists. The initial role of the incoming team member will be to lead and conduct research that involves plant tissue culture and assessment of secondary metabolites. As projects evolve in the research team, the team member will have the opportunity to expand their skillset to include producing and investigating other biomaterials.

Key Responsibilities:

• Investigate mechanisms of secondary metabolite production
• Employ plant culture techniques
• Communicate methods and results to a personally and professionally diverse team of researchers.
• Follow written protocol instructions with precision.
• Record organized notes of performed techniques precisely and thoroughly.
• Communicate results clearly and thoroughly in regular formal and informal presentations.
• Contribute ideas to discussions among a team of scientists working on biotechnology projects.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in plant biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, or related field
• Experience with culturing plant species and genetic transformation utilizing Agrobacterium
• Familiarity with techniques for characterizing plant metabolite production, such as gel electrophoresis and gel permeation chromatography
• Strong quantitative and problem-solving skills.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Willingness to collaborate and communicate with other scientists with professionally and personally diverse backgrounds.
• Familiarity with productivity software suites (Microsoft Office, Google Suite) that are used for email, word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, cloud file sharing, and virtual meetings.
• Due to the nature of this role U.S. Citizenship is required (may require the ability to obtain a security clearance).