Job Description

Staff - Non Union

Job Category Non Union Technicians and Research Assistants

Job Profile Non Union Salaried - Research Assistant /Technician 2

Job Title Research Technician - Carey Lab

Department Carey Laboratory | Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology | Faculty of Medicine

Compensation Range $3,777.25 - $4,501.17 CAD Monthly

Posting End Date January 14, 2023

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

Job End Date Dec 31, 2023

This position is located within a health-care facility. Therefore, this position requires successful verification of full vaccination against Covid-19 provided prior to the start date, as required by the provincial health mandate.

Job Summary
The Technician 2 position provides core experimental laboratory expertise to support the work of the Rare and Understudied Women\'s Cancer Program directed by Dr. Mark Carey. The work of the laboratory is focused on translational research in ovarian, uterine and breast cancers. Gynecolgic tumour samples and cell lines are studied in order to better understand the biology of these cancers, find better treatment options and identify predictors (biomarkers) of drug efficacy. The work of the laboratory includes: 1) the development and molecularly characterization of new experimental models derived from patients\xe2\x80\x99 samples (both cell lines and mice xenografts) to increase the research tools available to study these cancers; 2) the pre-clinical evaluation of novel drug therapies in these models (both in in-vitro and in-vivo); 3) development of a Canadian patient registry to collect information and tumor samples from one of these cancers. The ultimate goal of the research laboratory is to better understand the biology of these cancers and discover better treatment strategies to combat them.


Work to be performed within the Robert HN Ho Research Centre, primarily in room 383.

The work schedule is expected to be from Monday to Friday, from approximately 9am to 5pm.

Organizational Status
The Research Technician will play a vital role in the coordination and execution of experimental plans with students and other members of the team. This position will report directly to Dr. Mark Carey with supervision and support from Dr. Marta Llaurado and Dr. Nelson Wong. Laboratory research assistance will also be provided by Hannah Kim. The successful candidate can expect to receive feedback and support from all team members. We have a team-based work culture that supports a productive, respectful and supportive work environment.

Work Performed
The focus of the Technician will be conducting in-vitro (cell cultures) and in-vivo (mice models) experiments to aid in the discovery of potential treatments for gynecological cancers. Technician will design, plan and conduct experiments in the laboratory such as the following:

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  Administrative duties include, but are not limited to: keeping track of orders, ordering reagents, supplies, organizing laboratory and stocks, maintaining inventories, distributing supplies, and keeping records of experiments and results.
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  Laboratory duties include the preparation of medias, buffers, reagents, solutions, cultures and related material for routine laboratory use.
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  The Technician will also assist with the preparation and processing of samples tissue samples for the purpose of developing cell lines and processing tissues for molecular studies (e.g. genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, etc) and/or animal model development.

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  General molecular laboratory techniques required, but not limited to, are: PCR, Western blot, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, sequencing, mass spectrometry, and other related techniques with instruction from the team.
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  Other molecular laboratory techniques required include: preparing lysates (DNA/RNA/protein) from both tumour samples and cell lines; develop and maintain sterile mammalian tissue cultures, and in some cases treatment with drugs and/or siRNA/plasmids; conducting, monitoring and analyzing drug efficacy experiments.
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  Assistance in ongoing development of patient derived xenograft (PDX) models.
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  Assistance in operating, maintaining and troubleshooting problems with standard equipment.
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  The Technician will also compile data, analyze and interpret experiment results or data. Preparation of scientific summaries, reports, slides, presentations and scientific manuscripts will also be required.

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  The Technician will also play a major role in the development of the clinical database on study patients. This involves the collection and recording of clinical data, patient demographics and follow-up in accordance with established ethical and data management protocols.
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  The Technician will also be assisting in the preparation of research ethics protocols and creating/updating general laboratory SOPs.
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  The Technician will maintain an appropriate knowledge base by performing regular reviews of the literature, and stay updated on procedure manuals for experimental and laboratory standards.
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  The Technician will attend and participate in lab meetings, phone conferences, actively participate in ensuring laboratory efficiency and safety, and communicate and coordinate effectively with the lab members and their research collaborators.
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  The Technician will work closely with the students in the laboratory to facilitate student activities, experiments and learning opportunities. The Technician will also help initiate new employees/students and collaborators to routines, procedures, operation of equipment, and will participate in the training and supervision of students.

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  The Technician will comply with specified laboratory standards, policies and procedures, and will carry out any other related duties as required in keeping with the qualifications and requirements of positions in this classification. In addition, the Technician must complete the Tri-council course on ethics and comply with confidentiality and ethical standards that govern the research program.
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  The Technician must have good communication skills, demonstrate professional integrity, maintain a healthy work environment and establish effective working relationships with co-workers, collaborators and other staff members.
  
  Consequence of Error/Judgement
  Because errors may have deleterious impact on experiments to be performed, such errors should as much as possible be avoided. Intermittent errors would necessitate review of quality control techniques and continual errors in routine work could lead to discipline or dismissal.
  
  Supervision Received
  The Research Technician will play a vital role in the coordination of experimental plans with students and other members of the team. This position will report directly to Dr. Carey with supervision and support from Dr. Marta Llaurado and Dr. Nelson Wong. The Technician will seek opportunities to work collaboratively with Industry partners and other researchers at UBC, specifically with the OBGYN department, the VCHRI Institute and the BC Cancer Research Center. For specific tasks supervision and or guidance may be sought from these individuals.
  
  Supervision Given
  The technician will work collaboratively and help supervise, orient, train, and facilitate co-op and Master\xe2\x80\x99s students. The technician will also assist and provide guidance to other research members, as required.
  
  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.
  
  Preferred Qualifications
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  Previous laboratory experience (minimum 1-2 years) in cellular and molecular techniques, and demonstration of competency in previous laboratory research assistance experience.
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  Completion of higher-level laboratory classes is desirable.
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  Good organizational skills and independent work skills are necessary.