City : Vancouver

Category : Full time

Industry : Educational Services

Employer : University of British Columbia

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Posting End Date

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

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The expected pay for this position is $60,000 per year.

The Michael Smith Laboratories at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow (PDF) position in drug discovery employing electrophysiology and pharmacology research under the supervision of Dr Terrance Snutch. The successful candidate will join a multidisciplinary team developing novel drugs targeting brain diseases.

Project:

The position focuses on testing and advancing small molecule drug candidates through electrophysiological testing on native cells and exogenously expressed calcium channels. The project is part of a collaborative research initiative funded through the Mitacs program and offers the fellow the chance to work closely with academic and industry experts from UBC and RBI, a local company developing new treatments for neurological diseases.

Opportunity:

This is a unique opportunity to join a highly innovative and interdisciplinary research environment across UBC and affiliated hospitals, with exposure to both academic and biotech sectors. Vancouver offers a vibrant research community and a high quality of life.

Candidate:

We are seeking a postdoctoral fellow with strong experience in electrophysiology/biophysics and relevant data and statistical analyses, with a focus on ion channel targets. Candidates must have a PhD in neuroscience, biophysics or pharmacology. The candidate will have expertise in whole cell patch clamp of native cells and/or cell lines expressing cloned ion channels or neurotransmitter receptors. Candidates must have relevant expertise in cell culture, patch clamp data acquisition and data analyses using standard software and protocols. Candidates should be able to independently perform pharmacological testing to assess drug affinities and mechanism of blockade. The ideal candidate will also have electrophysiological expertise in animal models related to human disorders including patch clamp recordings involving brain slices.

Required Skills and Experience:

• Advanced electrophysiological and biophysical techniques

• Manual whole cell patch clamp of native and/or cultured cells aimed at measuring ionic currents in the presence and absence of drug, including calculation of drug affinity parameters such as Kd and IC50

• Experience measuring and quantifying relevant biophysical parameters including cell capacitance, resistance, action potential waveform, gating kinetics, voltage-dependence, time constants

• Experience with cell culture as it relates to handling established cell lines

• Familiarity with hardware used in the field, namely Axopatch, Multiclamp and Axon Digidata digitizer

• Familiarity with software packages used in the field, namely Clampex and Clampfit

• Previous work with brain slices using rodents (mice, rats) including synaptic physiology are considered an asset

Application Process:

Interested applicants should submit a CV and cover letter that details their experience and contact details for 3 references to the UBC Careers portal no later than the posting date.

The expected pay for this position is $60,000 per year. Salary will be commensurate with experience, qualifications, and any awards secured. The appointment start date is flexible, with a target date of January to March 2026. The initial appointment is for 4 months, with expected extension up to two years, subject to performance and funding

Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.