Laboratory Technician, Microbiome Therapeutics

The Department of Critical Care Medicine in the Cumming School of Medicine invites applications for a Laboratory Technician. This Full-time Fixed Term position is for approximately 1 year (based on length of grant funding), with the possibility of extension. This position reports to the CCMT Program Manager and supports a translational research and development program focused on live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) derived from the human microbiome.

The technician will perform routine tasks of moderate to high complexity and contribute to coordinating laboratory operations. Examples include (but are not limited to) anaerobic culture and isolation of commensal bacteria, preparation of media, cryopreservation and biobanking of isolated, nucleic acid extraction and routine bacteriological characterization.

• Culture, isolate, and maintain strictly anaerobic and facultative bacteria from human stool and derived materials, including work in an anaerobic chamber and preparation of reduced and selective media
• Perform molecular biology procedures including genomic DNA and RNA extraction, PCR, gel electrophoresis, plasmid preparation, restriction digestion and ligation, transformation, and sequencing library preparation
• Carry out bacterial cloning and genetic manipulation (e.g. plasmid construction, conjugation or electroporation-based transformation, mutant construction and verification) as directed
• Characterize isolated by phenotypic and genotypic methods (e.g. growth kinetics, substrate utilization, antimicrobial susceptibility, 16S rRNA and whole-genome sequencing)
• Support cell banking activities, including cryopreservation, inventory management, and accurate registration of strains within the CCMT strain registry and sample tracking systems
• Maintain detailed records of experimental protocols, raw data, and analyses to support publications, regulatory submissions, and quality documentation
• Maintain and monitor laboratory equipment (anaerobic chamber, incubators, centrifuges, freezers, etc) including routine performance checks and service coordination
• Draft, maintain, and follow SOPs and monitor key laboratory practices, inventory, and consumable ordering
• Provide aid in the training and supervision of students and other members of the laboratory
• Adhere to all University of Calgary policies and regulatory requirements, and to biosafety standards including the handling of human-derived material and Containment Level
• Identify professional development needs and skill priorities

• Bachelors degree in microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology or a related discipline is required. A masters degree or equivalent laboratory experience is an asset
• Demonstrated hands-on experience in bacteriology, including aseptic technique, media preparation, culture, isolation and enumeration, is required
• Demonstrated experience in molecular biology techniques (e.g. nucleic acid extraction, PCR/qPCR, electrophoresis) is required
• Experience with bacterial cloning and genetic manipulation (plasmid construction, transformation, mutant generation and verification) is strongly preferred
• Experience with anaerobic culture techniques and/or experience in anaerobic chamber operation is an asset
• Experience with gut microbiome research, commensal or fecal-derived isolated, or live biotherapeutic product development is an asset
• Familiarity with sequencing workflows (16s rRNA amplicon and/or whole-genome sequencing library preparation) is an asset
• Exposure to GMP, GLP, or other quality-controlled environments, including SOP-driven documentation, is an asset
• Strong record-keeping and data management skills, with careful attention to detail
• Must be able to work effectively as part of a…