Student Co Op Undergraduate Student Research Assistant; USRA

Job Listed On

January 9, 2024

Time Commitment:

Co-Op/Internship

Location:

Burnaby, BC

Vitacore Industries is looking for a keen USRA undergraduate student who wants to work with an award-winning, globally recognized R&D team comprised of scientists, PhDs, and engineers. This student will have an appetite and aptitude for all things biochemistry and wants to gain real-life lab experience. The term length will be either 4 months or 8 months (depending on the Co-Op term) and will require in-person laboratory attendance.

• May 2026 to end of August 2026 (4-month placement) or May 2026 to December 2026 (8-month placement)
• $23.00 per hour
• 10 paid days off, prorated for the calendar year
• 9am to 5pm PST, 40 hour per week for 4 months or 8 months
• Location - 3001 Wayburne Drive, Burnaby BC

• Must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or have refugee status (at this time due to IRCC regulations, international students with either a student or work visa are not eligible).
• Be willing to work in-person at the Burnaby laboratory.
• Post-secondary student currently in a Bachelor of Science program.

• Design, optimize, and execute PCR and qPCR experiments for short primer systems in low-literature or exploratory contexts, using systematic iteration of cycling parameters.
• Optimize PCR/qPCR conditions including annealing temperatures and durations, touchdown strategies, cycle numbers, and extension times to achieve robust and specific amplification.
• Develop and optimize qPCR assays targeting a range of viral and bacterial DNA sequences.
• Prepare and run agarose gel electrophoresis to validate PCR/qPCR products, including troubleshooting amplification and visualization issues.
• Analyze qPCR and gel electrophoresis results to confirm amplicon specificity, efficiency, and reproducibility.
• Maintain meticulous experimental records, including reagent preparation, tube mapping, cycling conditions, run outputs, and troubleshooting observations.
• Support assay development through methodical experimentation, data review, and iterative refinement of protocols.
• Contribute to the laboratory knowledge base by documenting optimized protocols and experimental learnings for future research and development efforts.

To apply for this job, please email  with your resume attached and the specific job title in the subject line.