Job Classification:                             Research Technician 3

Job Title:                                            Laboratory Technician

Faculty:                                              Medicine

Department:                                      Centre for Heart Lung Innovation

Divisions:                                            PROOF Centre of Excellence

Full/Part Time:                                  Full-time

Length of Position:                            1 year with the possibility of extension

                                                            Starting April 1, 2023

Funding Type:                                   Grant Funded

Job Summary:

The successful candidate will be responsible for the day-to-day laboratory operations including coordinating, processing and analyzing biospecimens and supply maintenance and ordering for the PROOF Centre of Excellence. Additionally, the candidate will be involved in research and development of new methods, experimental protocol design, sample preparation, instrument optimization for acquisition and analysis, data interpretation and training of personnel.

Work Performed: Work as a team with researchers in different laboratories and hospitals and on different projects. Work will include:

• Processing biospecimens (i.e. blood) as per Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for integration into the Biospecimen Information Management System biobank (BIMS), including scanning and organization of frozen biospecimens in hospital freezers
• Preparation and coordination of biospecimens for shipping to collaborators and receiving of biospecimen shipments from collaborators
• Shipment of biospecimens to other hospitals or laboratories
• Performing RNA extraction from whole blood using SOP developed for the Qiagen QIAcube laboratory instrument and other protocols
• Planning and performing experiments using  purified RNA samples with assays developed and/or used by the PROOF Centre, including the NanoString Treg and HEARTBiT assays
• Planning and performing experiments using other assays including nucleic acid assays (eg, PCR), Elisa, etc.
• Extracting bio-molecules from biospecimens and performing appropriate QA/QC
• Providing consultation and direct involvement in diverse research projects including data interpretation, trouble shooting for sample preparation, and experimental design
• Developing and updating SOPs, including biosafety protocols
• Maintaining laboratory equipment and inventory of laboratory supplies by creating orders for supplies as needed
• Maintenance of PROOF freezers and the biospecimens contained within
• Training and supervision of other laboratory members in the use of equipment, techniques and procedures
• Writing reports and presenting results at meetings
• General laboratory tasks
• Other duties as required

Consequence error/Impact of Decision

Work requires judgment and initiative.  Errors would have a significant impact on the operation of the laboratory and success of the projects.

Supervision Received:

The position will require minimal supervision and the incumbent will exercise independent judgment regarding scheduling and timely completion of tasks. The applicant will receive supervision from Dr. Scott Tebbutt and Sara Assadian.

Supervision Given:

The applicant will be working with other laboratory members including graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and technicians. The applicant may supervise directed studies/summer students.

Working Conditions:

The laboratory is located at St. Paul’s Hospital in the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation and the netCAD Blood for Research Facility at UBC. The working environment is free of occupational exposures except those which are typical for this type of research and are controlled by standard guidelines.

Personnel Specifications:

University degree in molecular biology/biochemistry or related field or graduation from a technical college or institute PLUS a minimum of 3 years of relevant experience

Experience with independently conducting specialized experiments with assays

Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Class 7 Receiving Certification preferred
TDG Class 6.2 Shipping Certification preferred

UBC Biological and Chemical Safety Certificates preferred

Effective oral and written communication

Organizational skills are essential

Ability to perform duties with precision, exercise judgment and initiative

Ability to complete assignments in a timely manner

Ability to work independently, once trained and as part of team

Computer experience-MS Office; experience with R/R studio would be an asset

If you are interested in this opportunity please send a cover letter along with your CV to Kelly.ceron@hli.ubc.ca