Research Associate, Department of Pathology

Requirements

• Master of Science in Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Genomics, Bioinformatics, or any other relevant qualification.
  
• A minimum of two years’ experience working with clinical teams is an added advantage.
  
• Measurable hands on wet lab experience working with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), including TB culturing, sample processing, biosafety level workflows, and handling of clinical isolates.
  
• Proven proficiency in molecular diagnostics techniques such as DNA extraction, PCR, qPCR, gel electrophoresis, and preparation of libraries for Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) sequencing.
  
• Experience performing quality control of DNA/RNA samples, optimization of extraction protocols, and troubleshooting of lab assays in high containment environments.
  
• Familiar with foundational bioinformatics approaches, including FASTQ data handling, basic command line workflows, sequence quality assessment, and introductory analysis pipelines for pathogen genomics.
  
• Ability to integrate wet lab and genomics workflows by coordinating sample preparation with downstream sequencing and preliminary data interpretation.
  
• Strong documentation and adherence to biosafety protocols when working with high risk pathogens.
  

• Retrieve and culture archived TB isolates.
  
• Perform PCR screening for RD9 gene extract
  
• Coordinate procurement and management of study supplies and maintain inventory; to ensure availability of materials.
  
• Conduct flow-cell QC, sequencing runs, variant calling, phylogenetic analysis
  
• Maintain lab records and isolate metadata.
  
• Assist in preparation of figures, tables, and manuscript outputs.
  
• Participate in stakeholder liaison meetings.
  
• Support manuscript development and contribute to dissemination activities
  
• Ensuring the confidentiality and security of the collected data.