Part-Time Research Assistant – Plant Pathology, Environmental Microbiology

Penn State College of Education

Part-time Research Assistant supporting laboratory and fieldwork for plant pathology and environmental microbiology research at Penn State. Focus on fungal culture and plant disease epidemiology in field crops.

Posted 4/26/2026part-timeUniversity Park • Pennsylvania • 🇺🇸 United StatesMid-LevelSeniorWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Support laboratory and fieldwork for the plant disease epidemiology program
Assist in preparing fungal culture media
Perform microbiological culturing and isolation of fungal pathogens
Help with laboratory assays and pathogenicity tests
Conduct germination tests for corn, soybean, and wheat
Assist with data entry of field and laboratory experiments

Requirements

What you’ll need

Current Penn State employee or student must apply internally through Workday
Experience with fungal culture media preparation
Knowledge of microbiological culturing and isolation of soil and seed-borne fungal pathogens
Familiarity with fungicide sensitivity studies
Skills in DNA extraction and quality check of fungal isolates
Ability to collect soil and plant samples and assist with sample processing
Experience in laboratory and fieldwork related to plant disease epidemiology

Benefits

Comp & perks

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s)
Requires valid driver’s license and successful completion of a motor vehicle records check

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

fungal culture media preparationmicrobiological culturingisolation of fungal pathogenslaboratory assayspathogenicity testsgermination testsDNA extractionquality check of fungal isolatessample processing

Soft Skills

data entryability to collect samples