Research Assistant

Job Title

Research Assistant - Brain Cancer Research Laboratory

**Job Description**:
An exciting opportunity is available to join the Brain Cancer Research Laboratory in the Personalised Oncology Division, and Brain Cancer Centre, in the establishment of pre-clinical models of brain cancer for personalised medicine approaches and to work with clinical partners in testing patient material for clinical trials. We are looking for a motivated individual with excellent communication skills, attention to detail and background in tissue culture.

About the position

The primary responsibilities of the Research Assistant are to facilitate patient sample collection, biobanking and processing samples from brain and other CNS cancers. In particular, the research assistant will play an integral role in the development of patient derived models (eg. Neurospheres and PDXs).

Additionally, this role presents an excellent opportunity to develop skills in translational clinical research and ensuring that translational endpoints for clinical trials are met. They will be supported in this role by project managers, data managers and clinician scientists to further their expertise.

To achieve these outcomes, the Research Assistant will require excellent communication skills to act as a point of contact for relevant internal and external stakeholders including Royal Melbourne Hospital Department of Neurosurgery, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Royal Children’s Hospital. They will work with team members and provide input into translational study design, protocol development, budget development, data analyses, and ensure progress reporting. The position will suit a self-motivated individual with a desire to learn new skills, optimise and implement protocols, with proven lab experience.

Key responsibilities

Study conduct and project administration
- Liaise with clinical teams to ensure the procurement of study samples from surgeries, (particularly tissue and frozen blood products), in a timely manner for analysis by collaborative laboratories at WEHI and other BCC partners
- Monitoring and reporting on the progress of sample collection, and biobanking activities to relevant stakeholders

Scientific Research
- Processing primary tissue samples to establish patient derived models and for use in other downstream assays
- Optimise and implement protocols to prepare tissue for single cell transcriptomics, spatial metabolomics/transcriptomics, as well as data generation
- Undertake experimental work and analyses, developing methods and/or theories
- Provide advice to researchers in the group on research methods, instruments, analyses, tools and/or theories
- Ensure the data is accurate, of high-quality, conforms with good scientific practice and is accessible to other researchers when required
- Communicate results to researchers and collaborators in written and/or visual formats
- May conduct own research projects or collaborate on larger projects
- May contribute to and/or assist in the preparation of research papers
- May give presentations to laboratory and division meetings

Resources and Planning
- Ensure the research proceeds effectively and efficiently by managing laboratory resources, eg consumables; samples; suggesting new databases and protocols; instruments and/or tools
- Manage research data and outputs including new methods and theories; coordinate, label and file, ensuring compliance with open access requirement of funding bodies and publishers
- Manage operations and communications within the laboratory or research group, eg scheduling team meetings and presentations
- Balance competing needs and timelines of multiple research projects within the laboratory or group, as well as with collaborators within the Institute and externally

Data management
- Assist data managers with review of data systems
- Ensuring the confidentiality of patient databases and related clinical trial information
- Liaise with trials staff, clinicians, researchers and statisticians to review requirements for central outcome review
- Development and maintenance of study data base build and design

Key selection criteria

Experience and qualifications
- Previous experience in tissue culture, preferably with both adherent and non-adherent cell lines, and PCR is essential.
- Experience with animal handling, including PDX models, is desirable
- Minimum of 1 years laboratory experience in research

Knowledge and skills
- Laboratory skills, such as molecular biology, genotyping, and lab sample management systems experience are highly desired.
- Experience with video-conferencing platforms, MS Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint

Personal qualities
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to work constructively within a team environment
- Ability to work as part of a team following experimental protocols
- Excellent attention to detail, ensuring that data, methods and theories are accurate, of high-quality and accessible to other researchers