Research Associate

Competition 1169

While this position welcomes applications from the public, please note that preference will be given to current employees at the University of Alberta. Please log in to verify your internal candidate status.

This position is a part of the Association of the Academic Staff of the University of Alberta (AASUA).

In accordance with the Trust/Research Academic Staff Agreement, this position offers a comprehensive benefits package found on our Benefits Overview page and annual salary range of $61,360 to $67,303. This position has a term length of 2 years.

Location - This role is in-person at North Campus Edmonton.

Working at the University of Alberta

The University of Alberta acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 6 territory, and respects the histories, languages and cultures of First Nations, Métis, Inuit and all First Peoples of Canada, whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant community.

The University of Alberta is a community of knowledge seekers, change makers and world shapers who lead with purpose each and every day. We are home to more than 14,000 faculty and staff, over 40,000 students and 260,000 alumni worldwide.

Your work will have a meaningful influence on a fascinating cross-section of people — from our students and community members, to our renowned researchers and innovators, making discoveries and generating solutions that make the world healthier, safer, stronger and more just. Learn more.

Working for the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering

The Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta attracts some of the best and brightest people. With 50 professors, over 300 graduate students and more than 500 undergraduate students, our department is growing every year.

Our undergraduate and graduate programs are taught by leading chemical and materials researchers from around the world. Our professors are award-winning, passionate instructors, and approachable mentors.

We provide leading-edge facilities for classroom studies and laboratory research. The latest communication technology enhances the in-class learning experience, while outstanding lab facilities and technicians offer opportunities to put your studies into practice.

Position 

The position is for a research associate who will be dedicated to execution of specific projects funded by outside organization, including public foundations and private companies. The position will conduct hands-on research on developing and formulating specialty materials for medical purposes. The position will execute a series of preclinical studies, including cell culture and animal studies, to test the performance of the developed materials. Where needed, the position will provide support to other research personnel involved in biomedical research.

Duties 

• Apply extensive knowledge in the field of polymer chemistry and biotechnology to perform high-level, complex research activities under the direction of a Principal Investigator.
• Designs individual experiments, data collection protocols and standards under the supervision of the Principal Investigator.
• Determine most appropriate methodology to meet identified research goals.
• Oversee/conduct data collection and advanced analysis of research data and results
• Summarize, analyzes and organizes data for publication by participates in the writing of research papers, the preparation of presentations and/or other publications.
• Undertake lipopolymer synthesis and characterization by a variety of physical and chemical methods
• Undertake transfection studies with a wide range of models of primary cells and cell lines.

Qualifications

• PhD degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or Materials Engineering fields (Completed within last four years).
• At least 2 years of PDF Experience
• Working knowledge of polymer synthesis (ex., lipid-polymer conjugation through amide, urethane, ester and imine linkages). Must have experience with Polymerization techniques like RAFT polymerization, ring opening polymerization and click chemistry. Experience in working with different MW PEI (from 0.6 to 25k MW) and purification techniques is an asset.
• Purification of polymers (ex., precipitation, dialysis, and freeze drying), knowledge and experience in storage, stability and half life period of polymers. The ability to reproduce the polymers in a bulk scale is an asset.
• Hands on experience with characterization for the functionalized polymers (1H and 13C NMR, FTIR, and MALDI). From NMR, know how to calculate the DS, and correlate the DS with the theoretical substitution. In addition, measure pKa (TFS assay) and CMC.
• Knowledge of binary and ternary polyplex formulations (via electrostatic interaction) based on different w/w or N/P ratio between polymer and genetic materials (pDNA, mRNA, siRNA and CRISPR). Additionally, must have knowledge of using different types of additives to improve the ternary polyplex formulation.
• Characterization of polyplex formulation (binding capacity via gel electrophoresis or SYBR green assay and dissociation capacity through heparin displacement). Physiochemical characterizations like particle size, zeta potential, PDI, and TEM.
• Hands on experience with transfection (both normal and reverse transfection) of polyplex formulations in different cell lines (attachment and suspension cells) such as A549, skin fibroblast, MDA-231, 436, HCT116, Bone marrow cells and Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons, Jurkat T cells, K562 WT, K562 IMR, K562 GFP, MOLM 13, MV4;11 cells.
• Hands on experience with RBC and PBMCs separation from Human blood via Ficoll-Paque protocol. Knowledge of hemocompatibility assay is an asset.
• Hands on experience with cell cytotoxicity studies (cell count and MTT), serum stability studies, cell uptake, uptake mechanism (using different inhibitors and lysotracker reagents) and cell transfection (should handle flow cytometry, plate reader, fluorescence microscope and confocal microscope). Working knowledge of corelate uptake and transfection with pKa, CMC, size, zeta potential, lipidic substitution, lipidic tail length, w/w ratio, MW of primary polymer. Also, know how to correlate the transfection between binary and ternary polyplex formulations.
• Working knowledge of pDNA, mRNA, siRNA and CRISPR technologies.
• Experience with in-vivo imaging and organs collection