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Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting 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. 

Job Summary
The Hirst lab is focusing on the development and improvement of molecular assays and bioinformatics tools to study the epigenetic causes of cancers and to discover new targets for potential cures. In epigenomics, the techniques and technologies are evolving very rapidly, demanding a high degree of flexibility and adaptability. If you are knowledgeable and experienced in molecular biology, have an interest in genomics and epigenomics, and would like to contribute to cancer research, this job might be for you.        

Organizational Status
As an integral part of the research team, the successful candidate will report to Dr. Hirst and his research manager and will support the team comprised of post doctoral fellows, research assistants, graduate students, and coop students.

Work Performed
The successful applicant will be responsible for executing experiments in support of the development of new epigenomics protocols and optimizing existing protocols. Specific duties include, but are not limited to conducting experiments such as tissue culture, CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, chromatin and nucleic acid extractions, preparation of next generation sequencing libraries for e.g. ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, and bisulfite-seq, quantifying DNA by qPCR, and operating next generation sequencers and liquid handing robotics.

The research assistant will also be responsible for general lab duties, such as preparing and aliquoting reagents, maintaining equipment, and waste disposal.  

Good communication skills written and verbal are required to document the experiments, present the results to the research team, and write operating procedures.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
The successful applicant will be directly responsible for errors in his/her work, for reporting problems and mistakes in a timely way, and for correcting those errors. Depending on the severity of the errors, budgets, timelines and the safety of the team might be affected. Aspects of the research will be jointly reviewed by the research manager and Dr. Hirst regularly to mitigate such occurrence.

Supervision Received
The applicant will work as part of a team. The successful candidate will be supervised by the research manager and the principal investigator, Dr. Hirst. Initially, detailed instructions will be provided for all experiments and tasks. Once familiar with the techniques and tasks, there will be minimal daily supervision unless needed or requested. 

Supervision Given
The incumbent might distribute work assignments to students or employees at lower classification levels and initiate new employees into routines and procedures.

Minimum Qualifications
Completion of a relevant technical program or a university degree in a relevant discipline and a minimum three years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

- 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

The applicant will hold at least a technical degree or a Bachelor of Science and has a minimum of 3 years of work experience in a molecular biology research laboratory or related discipline. Experience with tissue culture, genome editing, FACS, microscopy and other fluorescent detection methods, nucleic acid extractions, next generation library construction and sequencing, immunoprecipitation techniques, and qPCR is an asset. The candidate must be able to follow instructions and carry out responsibilities reliably and independently. Being self-motivated, organized and detail oriented is a must. The work requires processing of precious samples for which high degree of accuracy and precision is required. Strong communication skills will be required to document results, write protocols, present at lab meetings and journal clubs, train junior staff and students, and communicate to vendors and collaborators.