Research assistant with two years in a university neuroscience lab supporting rodent behavior and histology studies. Ran 600+ behavioral sessions with complete, audit-ready records for an NIH-funded project. Brings reliable protocol execution, IACUC compliance and the data-handling skills to keep a busy lab on schedule.
Experience
Research Assistant, Halvorsen Institute for Neuroscience (Boston, MA)
Aug 2024 – Present
Ran 600+ open-field and Morris water maze sessions across three cohorts, following IACUC-approved protocols with zero compliance findings
Sectioned and immunostained 1,200 brain slices and quantified c-Fos labeling in ImageJ/Fiji using a blinded scoring scheme
Maintained colony records for 180 mice in SoftMouse, cutting breeding-cage waste by 20%
Organized raw data and metadata on the lab server, enabling the PI to submit a dataset to DANDI on time
Undergraduate Research Assistant, Tufts University, Department of Psychology (Medford, MA)
Jan 2023 – May 2024
Coded video from 90 infant attention sessions with inter-rater reliability above 0.9
Recruited and scheduled 140 study families while keeping consent forms complete
Entered and double-checked 4,000 questionnaire records in REDCap with a 0.2% error rate
Education
B.S. Psychology and Biology, Tufts University (Sep 2020 – May 2024)
A strong Research Assistant resume shows the questions you investigated, the methods and instruments you mastered, and the data, publications or products your work produced. Put Education near the top and use projects, internships and coursework to show what you can already do.
Sections, in order
Summary
Education
Experience
Projects
Skills
Certifications
Length: One page. Recruiters expect a single page for early-career candidates.
Summary: Keep the summary to two lines: the role you want, your strongest skills, and one result from a project or internship.
Skills to feature
Experimental design
Laboratory techniques and instrumentation
Statistical analysis (R, Python, GraphPad Prism)
Data integrity (ALCOA+)
GLP and GMP compliance
Method development and validation
Scientific writing and publishing
Grant writing
Literature review
Cross-functional collaboration
Example bullet points
Developed an LC-MS/MS method for 14 metabolites with under 6% CV, replacing two legacy assays and cutting run time by 40%
Co-authored 5 peer-reviewed papers, including a first-author study in Journal of Biological Chemistry cited 60+ times
Wrote the preliminary-data section of an NIH R01 renewal that secured $2.4M over five years
Tips from recruiters
Name the techniques, instruments and software you used hands-on (qPCR, HPLC, flow cytometry, ImageJ) because hiring managers screen for exact methods.
List publications, posters and patents in a short selected list and link to ORCID or Google Scholar rather than pasting a full CV.
For industry roles, translate research into outcomes such as programs advanced, methods transferred or batches released, not only papers.
Recommended templates
Academic (ATS-friendly): Scholarly CV with small-caps headings and rules
Classic (ATS-friendly): Jake's-style LaTeX classic: small caps and hairline rules
Ivy (ATS-friendly): Harvard-style Times layout with centered headings
Research Assistant resume FAQ
What should a Research Assistant resume include?
A Research Assistant resume should show the questions you investigated, the methods and instruments you mastered, and the data, publications or products your work produced. Use these sections in this order: Summary, Education, Experience, Projects, Skills and Certifications. Put Education near the top and use projects, internships and coursework to show what you can already do.
What is the best resume template for a Research Assistant?
Academic, Classic and Ivy work well for Research Assistant roles. They are single-column with standard headings, so applicant tracking systems (ATS) parse them reliably.
How long should a Research Assistant resume be?
One page. Recruiters expect a single page for early-career candidates.
Which skills should a Research Assistant put on a resume?
Prioritize the skills named in the job posting. Common ones for Research Assistant roles are Experimental design, Laboratory techniques and instrumentation, Statistical analysis (R, Python, GraphPad Prism), Data integrity (ALCOA+), GLP and GMP compliance and Method development and validation.
How do I write strong Research Assistant resume bullet points?
Start with an action verb, say what you did, and end with a measurable result such as assay throughput, method precision (CV%) and turnaround time. For example: "Developed an LC-MS/MS method for 14 metabolites with under 6% CV, replacing two legacy assays and cutting run time by 40%."