Job Summary
The Department of Pathology is seeking a Research Assistant to support laboratory and bioinformatics workflows in a retrospective study investigating the prevalence, genomic diversity and antimicrobial resistance of animal -adapted Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (aMTBC) strains. The role contributes to understanding zoonotic transmission and multidrug resistance within a One Health framework.
Responsibilities
- Retrieve and culture archived TB isolates.
- Perform PCR screening for RD9 gene extract
- Coordinate procurement and management of study supplies and maintain inventory; to ensure availability of materials.
- Conduct flow-cell QC, sequencing runs, variant calling, phylogenetic analysis
- Maintain lab records and isolate metadata.
- Assist in preparation of figures, tables, and manuscript outputs.
- Participate in stakeholder liaison meetings.
- Support manuscript development and contribute to dissemination activities
- Ensuring the confidentiality and security of the collected data.
Requirements
- Master of Science in Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Genomics, Bioinformatics, or any other relevant qualification.
- A minimum of two years’ experience working with clinical teams is an added advantage.
- Measurable hands on wet lab experience working with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), including TB culturing, sample processing, biosafety level workflows, and handling of clinical isolates.
- Proven proficiency in molecular diagnostics techniques such as DNA extraction, PCR, qPCR, gel electrophoresis, and preparation of libraries for Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) sequencing.
- Experience performing quality control of DNA/RNA samples, optimization of extraction protocols, and troubleshooting of lab assays in high containment environments.
- Familiar with foundational bioinformatics approaches, including FASTQ data handling, basic command line workflows, sequence quality assessment, and introductory analysis pipelines for pathogen genomics.
- Ability to integrate wet lab and genomics workflows by coordinating sample preparation with downstream sequencing and preliminary data interpretation.
- Strong documentation and adherence to biosafety protocols when working with high risk pathogens.