Research Technician Ii Respirology/cf Research

**Research Technician II**

**Research Program**

Dr Jane Batt runs a research program aimed at discerning the cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning skeletal muscle atrophy and injury/degradation in critical illness and trauma. Experimental techniques utilized are broad and involve cell culture and animal (rat, mouse) models of muscle injury and repair, in additional to translational experimentation in humans. The program also aims to train the next generation of scientists and therefore employs undergraduate and graduate students and Post Doctoral Fellows.

The Batt lab is currently looking for a Research Technician II.

This position performs routine, along with some ad hoc laboratory-based research activities involving laboratory research tests, experiments, techniques, and procedures. This position requires the ability to strictly adhere to research protocol and work with the Investigator and senior lab members to carry out various technical aspects of the research study while also providing clerical support. This position alsorequires data analysis and experiment design. This position is building on the skills and knowledge obtained as a Research Technician I.

**Duties & Responsibilities**:
This position includes all of the duties/responsibilities of the Technician I position, as well as:
**Laboratory/Animal Tasks (50% of work time)**

Establishes, optimize, and troubleshoots new experiments/assays.

Ensure appropriate equipment and/or new reagents are purchased

Select and prepare equipment for routine/intermediate experiments and/or assays and collaborating to determine lab set up requirements, with specific experience with RNA extraction and quantification (eg RTqPCR, ddPCR), protein extraction and quanfication (eg Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, microscopy)

Perform well-defined, routine experiments, or other procedures and assists with intermediate experiments as needed.

Collect experimental data, verifying results and passes on findings by performing routine data entry.

Animal (rat and mouse) handling and restraint.

Colony maintenance and health monitoring.

Animal anesthesia monitoring and surgical nursing.

Obtain animal blood sample and administer injections.

Process harvested muscle tissue for histologic analyses, RNA and protein extraction and experimentation

Maintain cell lines and primary cell cultures, maintaining strict sterility and biohazard handling requirements

Be competent with sterile technique working with biohazard safety cabinet (level II) and experienced with all manner of cell culture experiments (eg transfection, RNA extraction, protein extraction, immunocytology)

Perform routine maintenance, calibration and troubleshooting on laboratory instruments.

Follow rules and procedural instructions when working within and maintaining a biohazardous research environment.

Provide basic technical support to trainees on good laboratory practices.

Attend and participate in lab meetings, phone conferences, actively participate in ensuring laboratory efficiency and safety, and communicate and coordinate effectively with the lab members and their research collaborators.

Observe details and maintain accurate records of experiments and results.

Gather and compile experimental results and assist in the preparation of data for reports and publications.

Recognize and investigate apparent reasons for obvious deviations in results obtained.

Research regulations, compliance and guidelines with the Animal Care and Use Program

**Non-Laboratory Research Tasks (25% of work time)**

Collection, transcription, and interpretation of data, and preparing statistical reports.

Present research related technical information, including assisting with methods sections of study reports when necessary.

Assist in basic analysis of research data by performing tasks such as assembly, compilation, and summary of statistical and other data.

Perform literature searches on requested topics through library database and provide relevant articles to PI or research team.

Monitor and prioritize workflow to ensure accurate and timely reporting of results.

Maintain accurate records of procedures, animals, samples, and inventories

Participate in data analysis and manuscript preparation

Compile data, analyzes and interprets experiment results or data.

Preparation of scientific summaries, reports, slides, presentations, and scientific manuscripts will also be required.

Maintain an appropriate knowledge base by performing regular reviews of the literature and stays updated on procedure manuals for experimental and laboratory standards.

Write a variety of documents such as technical and procedural sections for research reports and standard operating procedures.

**Administrative Duties (25% of work time)**

General office duties e.g., filing, mailings, courier services, photocopying, etc.

Monitoring and ordering supplies.

Routine organization and maintenance of laboratory space, supplies a