Postdoctoral Research Fellow

University of British Columbia • Vancouver, BC

10d • Onsite

About The Position

The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia is seeking a highly motivated full-time Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join their lipid nanoparticle enabled gene delivery group. This group focuses on the development of nanomedicine and gene therapy against chronic diseases, with specific aims to develop novel cancer nanomedicine using gene therapy to deliver functional proteins that tackle the dense, protective barrier around tumours, allowing advanced immunotherapies to reach and treat cancer. The Faculty strives to optimize drug therapy in pursuit of improving patient outcomes and empowering future generations of healthcare practitioners in the pharmaceutical sciences. This interdisciplinary project will focus on the development and evaluation of a novel lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-mRNA platform for functional gene delivery in cancer. The research will integrate formulation science, molecular biology, and preclinical cancer modeling to investigate both the delivery performance of the LNP-mRNA system and the biological impact of the encoded gene in relevant in vitro and in vivo models. The candidate will play an active role across multiple aspects of the project, from nanoparticle preparation and nucleic acid design to mechanistic analysis and animal studies.

Requirements

• Hold a Ph.D. in biology, biomedical engineering, pharmaceutical sciences, biochemistry, or a related field.
• Ph.D. obtained within the last 5 years.
• Strong record of research productivity.
• Strong background in nanomedicine, RNA biology, cancer biology and preclinical cancer studies.
• Strong communication skills.
• Ability to independently drive research projects.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in preclinical model.
• Experience with single-cell transcriptomics, proteomics, or multimodal data integration.
• Experience in cancer genomics or oncology.
• Preclinical cancer model experience.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with graduate students and other team members to formulate and optimize LNPs for mRNA delivery, including assisting with nanoparticle preparation, characterization, and quality assessment.
• Contribute to the design and generation of plasmid DNA templates and mRNA constructs for functional studies.
• Perform transcriptomic analyses to evaluate cellular responses following gene delivery, including sample preparation, data generation, and interpretation of gene expression changes associated with treatment.
• Help identify molecular pathways affected by the delivered gene and relate these findings to therapeutic response.
• Establish and work with preclinical small animal cancer models to assess in vivo gene delivery and treatment outcomes.
• Perform animal handling, administration of formulations through appropriate injection routes, IVIS imaging for monitoring biodistribution or reporter expression.
• Collect tissues for downstream processing, histological assessment, and molecular analysis.
• Lead publications.
• Develop an independent research profile.

Benefits

• Benefits per year (mentioned with salary).
• Access to state-of-the-art equipment.
• Opportunities to work closely with experimental and computational researchers.
• Opportunities to lead publications.
• Opportunities to develop an independent research profile.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees