Job Description

Staff - Union

Job Category CUPE 116

Job Profile CUPE 116 Salaried - Research Assistant /Technician 2

Job Title Research Technician, BPSc Program

Department Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Laboratory Support | Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Compensation Range $4,025.00 - $4,407.00 CAD Monthly

Posting End Date March 13, 2023

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.

Job End Date

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Summary
To provide technical support in the teaching laboratories for the Pharmaceutical Sciences Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences (BPSc) courses PHAR 203, 204, 307, and any other courses as directed by the Program Director; Associate Dean, Academic (ADA); or the Dean.

Organizational Status
The position reports to the Lecturer and Laboratory Instructor for teaching and technical related matters, and reports to the Director of the BPSc for issues relating to attendance, reassignment and HR issues.

Work Performed

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  Prepares and aliquots stock solutions and reagents for teaching labs.
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  Prepares microbiological media, reagents, stains, buffers etc., and cultures for teaching labs.
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  Prepares material for, and performs mammalian cell culture in preparation for teaching labs.
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  Sets up supplies and equipment for the teaching labs as requested by the course instructor, and clears and cleans materials and equipment after student labs, including cleaning and disposal of materials as needed, within safety guidelines.
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  Ensures that adequate supplies of reagents are on hand for each particular lab and in an appropriate form for dispensing to or by the GTAs or students (i.e., pre-weighed, packaged, transferred to tubes/bottles, etc.)
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  Organizes and maintains chemical and biological inventories and stocks, distributing supplies as needed, and informing the Lecturer and Laboratory Instructor when stocks or chemicals are low so that they may be reordered in a timely fashion.
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  Receives goods and related items and notifies the Lecturer and Laboratory Instructor, maintains a receiving logbook.
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  Cleans and prepares all glassware for teaching labs (glassware washing machines available).
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  Autoclaves and disposes of biowaste according to UBC protocols.
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  Ensures all safety obligations are met and maintains safe lab practices
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  Ensures that the laboratory space is clean, equipment ready, ice obtained when needed, and set-up is done and ready for each lab session.
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  Responsible for verification of the proper operation of common lab equipment and apparatus such as analytical and top-loading balances, magnetic stirring hot plates, incubators, water baths, vacuum pump, and pH meters. This includes the routine calibration of pH meters.
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  Assists the Lecturer and Laboratory instructor to relay technical and safety information to the GTAs.
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  Cleans and prepares all equipment in the teaching labs for coming academic session.
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  Works with Lecturer and Laboratory Instructor to organize repairs of equipment if required or sends equipment for repair if necessary.
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  Provides technical support for BPSc Students in PHAR 203, 304, and 307 as required.
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  Assists the Lecturer and Laboratory Instructor to service equipment such as pipettors.
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  Assists the Lecturer and Laboratory Instructor to develop and maintain course syllabi, experiments, and laboratory manuals as well as maintain up-to-date course information in the University\'s learning management system (Canvas).
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  Assists the Lecturer and Laboratory Instructor with testing, validating, optimizing, and troubleshooting new and existing experimental procedures and preparing materials to support these endeavors.
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  Assists in housekeeping chores for the teaching labs, including but not limited to, racking pipette tips, refilling containers of microfuge tubes, peroxide safety testing, and maintaining stocks of various cleaning solutions.
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  Creates and maintains a respectful and inclusive environment.
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  Performs other related duties as required.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
Works with a good degree of independence, with work subject to oversight by Lecturer and Laboratory Instructor. However, confidence in quality of work performed and independence of the individual, is essential. Errors and incorrect decisions may have far reaching negative effects, with improperly prepared solutions potentially resulting in the failure of student experiments. A large portion of students\xe2\x80\x99 grades are based on their ability to achieve the expected results in the lab, and if their starting materials are incorrect, it will be impossible to succeed. This type of error may only be detected multiple weeks later when students need to use previously generated materials for their subsequent experiments. The Lecturer and Laboratory Instructor, and/or technician must then carry out tests to locate and confirm the source of the problem, identify all students whose results were affected by the error, notify these students that their results will be disregarded in final grading, and generate new materials so that the students can use these new materials to complete the remainder of the course. Such incidents are very time consuming and reflect negatively upon the integrity of the course.

Major errors could mean that one or more laboratory periods must be postponed or cancelled. Incorrect operation of some instruments such as centrifuges could lead to massive property damage or death, or extremely costly repairs. Incorrect mixture of solutions could lead to toxic fumes and evacuation of students from the laboratory. Course integrity and continuity demand zero errors of major consequence.

Supervision Received
The Research Technician, BPSc Program is supervised by the Lecturer and Laboratory Instructor, with oversight from the Office of the Director of the BPSc. The Research Technician, BPSc Program will receive a description of the laboratory exercises and receives general instruction from the instructor. The position works independently on many tasks.

Routine cleaning, maintenance, and calibration of equipment such at pH meters are the responsibility of the Research Technician, BPSc Program, and should be able to be completed with minimal supervision.

Supervision Given
Provides technical assistance to graduate teaching assistants, faculty members and occasionally other staff, students or faculty; with the guidance of the Lecturer and Laboratory Instructor.

Minimum Qualifications
High school graduation, some additional training in a related field and a minimum two years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one\xe2\x80\x99s own

Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one\xe2\x80\x99s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications
An undergraduate (Bachelor\xe2\x80\x99s) degree in Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences or similar is preferred. A post-graduate university degree (e.g. MSc) in a relevant discipline (e.g., Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacology, etc.) would be preferred. Experience in a laboratory setting is desired . Experience with solution preparation and standardization at high level of accuracy, and all associated calculations. Good organizational/logistical skills: the ability to plan, organize, and set up the teaching laboratory according to lab schedules. Experience with aseptic technique and bacterial culture is needed. Good verbal and written communication skills; fluency in English; and ability to maintain high quality records of experimental procedures and preparation timelines are needed. Strong attention to detail while maintaining accuracy is required. The ability to multi-task and work both independently and within a team environment is necessary. Familiarity with research equipment (e.g., thermocyclers, microplate readers, inverted microscopes, HPLC, LCMS, and NMR) is preferred. Familiarity with various research techniques such as cloning, PCR, mammalian cell culture, electrophoresis, western blotting, recombinant proteins, ELISA, metabolic assays, immunofluorescent imaging, nanoparticle production) is preferred.