Research Assistant/Technician 5

Staff - Non Union

Job Category
Non Union Technicians and Research Assistants

Job Profile
Non Union Salaried - Research Assistant /Technician 5

Job Title
Research Assistant/Technician 5

Department
Johnson Laboratory | Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences | Faculty of Medicine

Compensation Range
$5,910.91 - $6,763.37 CAD Monthly

Posting End Date
May 29, 2024

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

Job End Date

Jun 30, 2025

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. 

Job Summary

The Dr. Johnson Laboratory, in the Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, at the University of British Columbia, will be looking to hire a Research Assistant/Technician 5 to join the team. The incumbent performs small animal surgeries and provides expert technical advice in this area and acts as a resource for the technical needs of a large research lab. The incumbent collaborates with research partners to develop an innovative and cutting-edge technology, such as small animal Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM), and to establish standard operating procedures. This initiative will be new to Canada and represent a groundbreaking advancement in Canadian diabetes research. All the new techniques will be offered as an educational and research core resource to UBC funded by a CFI grant on metabolic resilience. In addition, the incumbent provides technical expertise to the lab members and other researchers involved in research projects and contributes to grant proposals, research reports, and journal manuscripts.

This position requires a high level of expertise in laboratory. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research projects and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to advance scientific knowledge in the field.

Organizational Status

The Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences does world-class research aimed at understanding the fundamental workings of cells and organisms in an effort to identify the underlying causes of human diseases. The Department’s research is diverse, with Investigators working in a wide range of the leading invertebrate and vertebrate model systems and using biochemical, molecular genetic, cellular and physiological approaches. The Department has particular strengths in neuroscience, endocrinology, development and cancer. The robust collaborative spirit between the Department’s Investigators drives increasingly multidisciplinary research programs in each laboratory. This includes the incorporation of the latest technologies in molecular biology, genetics, next-generation genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, and genetically-engineered animal models to complement our expertise in cell biological and physiology. The research in the Department is also strengthened by our use of advanced imaging capabilities that includes EM, super-resolution, 2-photon, live-cell and high-throughput microscopy. Research in the Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences is providing insight into the fundamental biological processes and pathologies that lie behind many diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, to name just a few.
The incumbent reports directly to the Principal Investigator, Dr. James Johnson and interacts closely with members of other laboratories at the wider UBC community. There are also interactions and collaborations with a variety of national and international research labs.

Work Performed

• Provides expertise, consultation and technical advice on specialized surgical techniques on small animals and diverse research projects involving microscopic surgeries in small animals, post-operative care etc.

• Acts as consultant to and liaises with internal and external researchers, to provide technical advice on microscopic surgeries in small animals and provides complex analysis of research data in the area of expertise.

• Participates in collaborative projects, internally and externally, in implication of new techniques and conducting joint experiments with collaborating laboratories and visiting scientists, including training in animal surgeries.

• Develops and keeps up-to date with new techniques and standard operating procedures across a wide variety of cell culture. All the new innovative techniques will be offered as an educational and research core resource to UBC.

• Leads the training of new personnel in aseptic surgical techniques, post-operative care of rodents, mouse breeding, and isolating and preparing pancreatic islets for research experiments.

• Provides complex analysis of samples as part of a facility that provides an external service, using state of the art instruments with many cutting-edge technologies.

• Contribute to preparation, development and submission of grant proposals, research reports, and journal manuscripts, particularly with regards to experiments involving animals, identification of required equipment needs, and interpretation of research data.

• Carries out any other related duties as required in keeping with the qualifications and requirements of positions in this classification

Consequence of Error/Judgement

The incumbent is expected to exercise judgment, assume responsibility, and take initiative in determining work procedures and methods pertaining to small animal surgeries. Carelessness and incorrect decisions could result in disruption or ruination of a research study, increased expenses, time loss and may jeopardize the lab's ability to secure funding by competing for research grants.

Supervision Received

The incumbent works independently under the direction of and reports to the Principal Investigator, Dr. James Johnson.

Supervision Given

While formal supervision is not required, the role entails offering expert guidance, consultation, and training to postdoctoral fellows, students, and technicians within the laboratory, as well as to internal and external researchers.

Minimum Qualifications
University degree in relevant discipline or completion of a technical program and a minimum five years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Some positions may require a graduate degree.
- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Expertise in microscopic surgeries in small animals.

• Experience in training others in surgeries and proper care of small animals.
• Experience in isolating mouse pancreatic islets
• Experience in animal breeding colony and genotyping
• Experience in contributing to grant proposals, research reports, and journal manuscripts,
• High degree of motivation, enthusiasm, organization, and initiative.
• Ability to operate various lab equipment.
• Ability to handle various general laboratory reagents, research compounds, and chemicals.
• Ability to exercise tact and discretion required.
• Ability to work independently and with other lab personnel.
• Ability to carry out complex analyses, solve complex problems, and develop new processing methods.
• Ability to work with people of diverse backgrounds.
• Effective oral and written communication.