Research Assistant

As a Research Assistant you support funded scientific or clinical research projects in Irish universities, hospitals, or research institutes, working under the supervision of a principal investigator or senior scientist. Your daily tasks include preparing and processing biological samples, running laboratory assays, operating and calibrating analytical instruments such as automated analysers, and accurately recording experimental data. You collaborate closely with postdoctoral researchers, biomedical scientists, and academic staff, contributing to team meetings and helping to troubleshoot procedures when results fall outside expected parameters. Administrative duties such as monitoring reagent stock levels, maintaining equipment logs, and ensuring compliance with health and safety protocols also form a regular part of the role.

A Level 8 Honours Bachelor degree is the typical minimum requirement for a Research Assistant post in Ireland, with relevant disciplines including Biomedical Science, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Biotechnology, or a related life science. Useful Leaving Certificate subjects include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics, as strong performance in these supports entry to science programmes at universities such as UCD, UCC, TCD, University of Galway, DCU, and UL, as well as the technological universities such as TU Dublin and MTU. Some posts, particularly those with a clinical laboratory focus, may require or strongly prefer candidates who hold CORU registration as a Biomedical Scientist, though many research-focused roles do not mandate statutory registration. A Level 9 Postgraduate Diploma or Master of Science can strengthen your application and is often pursued alongside or following a Research Assistant post. This role is widely regarded as a stepping stone into PhD study, and many holders are simultaneously enrolled in or preparing for a doctoral programme funded through Science Foundation Ireland or other competitive research bodies.