This Research Associate position is with the UBC Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery, specifically within the Thamboo Research Lab Otolaryngology. Based at the UBC Hospital Site in Vancouver, British Columbia, the role is integral to the Sinus Clinic at St. Paul’s Hospital and the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation (HLI). The successful candidate will initiate and lead research projects, manage communications, and interact with sponsors and collaborators, contributing to innovative advancements in knowledge and practice to improve health locally and internationally. The expected annual pay for this position is $76,128.
Reporting directly to the Principal Investigator, Dr. Andrew Thamboo, this role also involves liaising with research technicians and trainees and providing functional direction to students and staff within the lab. The Department of Surgery is a large, distributed team across British Columbia, dedicated to education and cutting-edge research, aiming to create knowledge and advance learning that makes a vital contribution to individuals and communities.
Your Responsibilities
The Research Associate will establish, implement, and lead various research projects, including designing and performing experiments related to the "Unified Airway Hypothesis" and inflammatory respiratory tract diseases. This involves developing and implementing clinical research study protocols, managing industry-sponsored and collaborative research projects, and ensuring alignment with project priorities and timelines. A key part of the role is managing the development and improvement of Standard Operating Procedures to support clinical research workflows, designing research methodology, and critically reviewing literature.
The incumbent will direct the organisation, inventory, and maintenance of research data and collected clinical samples, and coordinate new infrastructure purchases and calendaring systems. Furthermore, the role involves analysing and coordinating presentations of complex data for meetings, conferences, and publications. The Research Associate will lead grant application activities, manage team research purchasing and budgets, liaise with funding agencies, and coordinate financial reporting.
Regular liaison with academic and industrial collaborators is required to report on project milestones and data collection. The position also entails liaising with the Research Ethics Board for applications and protocol compliance, advising technical staff and faculty on experimental techniques, and training undergraduate, Co-Op, and graduate students. Specific laboratory tasks include PBMC isolation, RNA extraction (Bulk and ScRNA), genetic analyses, flow cytometry, and fluorescence activated cell sorting on human airway specimens. The Research Associate will also maintain and monitor essential infrastructure for airway studies and perform other research-related responsibilities as required by the Principal Investigator.
What You'll Bring
Candidates for this Research Associate position must possess a PhD in Biology, Immunology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, or a relevant discipline, coupled with a minimum of three years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of training and experience. Up-to-date experience performing research techniques relevant to the "Unified Airway Hypothesis" and airway inflammatory diseases is essential. This includes expertise in molecular and protein analysis such as ELISA, multiplex cytokine assays, RT-qPCR, gene expression profiling, Bulk RNA-seq, single-cell RNA-seq, proteomics, immunoassays, and biomarker discovery.
Required cellular and immunology techniques include flow cytometry, immune phenotyping, primary airway epithelial cell culture, Air-liquid interface (ALI) models, PBMC isolation, immune cell functional assays, co-culture, and ex vivo tissue models. Experience with advanced and high-tech approaches such as single-cell multi-omics (scRNA-seq, CITE-seq), spatial transcriptomics, high-dimensional cytometry (CyTOF/spectral flow), high-content imaging, and automated microscopy is also necessary. Clinical and translational techniques required encompass human biospecimen processing (blood, sputum, BAL, tissue), biobanking, longitudinal sample analysis, inflammatory endotyping, biomarker validation, patient-reported outcomes, and clinical correlation.
The role demands demonstrated experience in developing study protocols, coordinating clinical and translational research logistics, and contributing to successful competitive grant applications, including proposal development and submission management. Excellent organisational and project management skills, with the ability to prioritise multiple projects and meet deadlines with outstanding accuracy and attention to detail, are crucial. The successful candidate will exercise tact, discretion, and confidentiality, possess strong attention to data quality and research integrity, and be able to anticipate challenges and implement proactive solutions.
Proficiency with standard computer applications for word processing, spreadsheets, and data analysis is expected, along with experience in data interpretation, reporting, and knowledge translation. The ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment, take initiative, anticipate emerging issues, recommend actions to mitigate problems, actively listen, and communicate effectively both orally and in writing is paramount. The role may require a flexible schedule, including additional hours on weekends, evenings, and early mornings due to urgent tasks or deadlines.
