Mitacs Accelerate
www.mitacs.ca/accelerate

Description:

One 4 month period position is available for a protein biochemist/microbiologist (graduate student or post-doctoral fellow) to join a dynamic biotechnology company dedicated to the development of new antimicrobials to combat emerging multidrug-resistant pathogens under the MITACS-Accelerate internship program. We are seeking individuals with a proven track record of primary and secondary biochemical and microbiological assays aimed at the identification and development of small molecules as potential novel antibiotics to treat multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens. The individuals will be involved with the assay development and screening team in close collaboration with chemists to enable iterative rounds of compound testing and hit-to-lead optimization. The individuals are expected to employ multiple enzymatic and cell-based assay platforms and rigorous data analysis to prosecute small molecule targets. MITACS-Accelerate support current graduate students and post-doctoral fellows under the program. Eligible individuals must be enrolled in a Canadian university with a current academic supervisor.

Major Responsibilities:

•  Design and conduct laboratory experiments consistent with the goals and milestones of the project team in identifying novel antibiotics for multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens
• Perform enzymatic assays, protein-compound binding assays, and kinetic assays in low- to-medium throughput format (96-well plate) to identify and characterize lead compounds
• Use standard microbiological techniques to determine minimum inhibitory concentrations for lead compounds, including time kill assay, and identification of resistant bacterial strain
• Expression and purification of target proteins from a variety of expression systems, performing general protein biochemistry (SDS-PAGE and Western blotting), molecular biology techniques (sub cloning, PCR), and tissue cultureCompile data into spreadsheets for analysis and reporting
• Follow standard operating procedures and organize experimental data in a form suitable for manuscripts and PowerPoint presentations
• Maintain database and reconcile laboratory expenses and account balances
  Critically evaluate scientific literature, perform experiments and draw conclusions

Skills and Qualifications:

• University degree (B.Sc.) in biochemical sciences and/or microbiology plus at least 2 years of related research experience
• Strong background in biochemistry and enzymology. Experience in drug discovery is desirable
• Prior experience with biochemical and biophysical assay technologies and general biochemistry techniques (SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, affinity chromatography, etc.) is mandatory
• Proven experience in compound screening (96-well plate format) and identification of small molecule inhibitors
• Strong experience with microbiological techniques to assess antibacterial activities of compound hits on various Level 2 bacterial pathogens
• Background in bioinformatics an asset
• Advanced knowledge of Excel, PowerPoint and web-based database
• Excellent record-keeping skills required
• Ability to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Accuracy and attention to detail
• Ability to prioritize tasks to meet project deadlines
• Ability to handle multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment
• Effective oral and written communication, interpersonal and organizational skills
• Excellent analytical thinking skills
• Self-motivated and adaptable work ethic

Internship funding to be provided by MITACS and Indel Therapeutics Inc. (www.indelrx.com).
For more information contact: Raymond See at rsee@indelrx.com.