AgBiome, and our sister company LifeEdit, are seeking curious, enthusiastic, and self-motivated individuals with strong emotional intelligence to work in ​our lab environment (a great sense of humor is strongly preferred!). We have a unique self-organizing culture and are looking for candidates that recognize the importance of successfully collaborating with others. A willingness to embrace our cultural values will be critical for success in this role.

Our paid internship opportunities are temporary (40 hrs/wk) positions from May to August 2019, potentially ranging from 8 to 15 weeks in length, depending on the situation.  

We are primarily seeking students majoring in Biology, Microbiology, Genomics, Formulation Chemistry, Entomology, Informatics/Computer Science, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Plant Biology, and/or related agriculturally-focused disciplines.

Internship opportunities include work such as:

• FERMENTATION 
  • Assist in making media, setting up and run fermenters for optimizing microbial fermentation to produce biologicals, aseptic sampling for metabolic profiling and flux analysis, data analysis.
  • Applicant background: Graduate student in Master's or Ph.D. program (Ph.D. preferred)  in Chemical engineering/Microbiology/Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology, experience with aseptic work, familiar with work in a microbiology lab
• INSECT CONTROL/MICROBE DISCOVERY
  • Have you been itching for the opportunity to apply Koch postulates in the real world? Are you excited by the idea of searching for microbes that could potentially be used as biopesticides to control pest insects? If you could make sense of either of these questions, this might be the internship for you! As an intern you will start a program to isolate insect-pathogenic fungi from environmental samples. Preferred skills and education include: understanding of sterile technique, good organizational skills, experience in Entomology and/or Microbiology, and a Bachelor's degree or graduate student in a Master's or Ph.D program.
• PROTEIN PURIFICATION/BIOCHEMISTRY (LIFEEDIT)
  • Project goals
    • Develop and improve purification strategies for novel genome editing proteins
    • Perform biochemical studies to generate mechanistic insights
  • Qualifications
    • The candidate is expected to be enrolled in a degree program (B.S., M.S., or Ph.D.) in a relevant discipline.
    • Classroom experience in molecular biology, general and organic chemistry, and biochemistry are strongly preferred.
    • The ability to independently and accurately perform calculations in the laboratory is required.
    • Proficiency with spreadsheet software (i.e. Excel, Google Sheets), and presentation software (i.e. Powerpoint, Google Slides) are required.
    • Laboratory experience and familiarity with basic laboratory equipment and techniques commonly used in biochemistry, chemistry, or molecular biology laboratories is required. Examples include use of pipettes and preparation of buffers and cell growth media. Experience from laboratory classes is acceptable, but experience from research laboratories is preferred.
    • Experience with gel electrophoresis, work with protein, DNA, and/or RNA, and/or microbial cell culture are highly preferred.
    • Liquid chromatography experience, particularly in the context of protein purification is highly preferred.
    • Experience with spectroscopy, such as UV-vis, is preferred.

AgBiome is located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, near three leading research universities: Duke, NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill. Housing and relocation assistance are not offered. Interns must be legally able to work in the United States for the duration of the internship.

If you are interested in learning new things, meeting new people, and contributing to the success of the team, please prepare a CV and cover letter explaining your interest in the position and any relevant experience you may have. In your cover letter please highlight which opportunities are most interesting to you so we can connect you with the right group.

Visit AgBiome.com where you can learn more about our company and its unique culture and to submit your CV and cover letter.