New Jobs at The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)

Responsibilities:

• General laboratory maintenance and support to staff and students, including IHC laboratory stock inventory,  record keeping, and preparation of basic solutions for the laboratory
• Wash and autoclave laboratory glassware and consumables.
• Manage biohazardous and chemical waste removal from laboratories and for collection by waste companies in compliance with health and safety regulations.
• Managing the chemical store and supply to the laboratory when required
• Monitoring and maintaining CO2 and Liquid nitrogen tanks for the laboratory
• Assist researchers and postgraduate students in obtaining liquid nitrogen and dry ice
• Maintain laboratory stock, monitor reagents, and assist with inventory reports and quarterly stocktakes.
• Perform routine laboratory procedures, including tissue embedding, sectioning of FFPE and cryo blocks, and IHC staining, following established protocols.
• Assist with DNA/RNA isolation from biological samples under supervision.
• Support staff and students in experimental animal studies
• Collect, transport, and log laboratory and wastewater samples
• Record and compile quality control data and routine laboratory reports.
• Assist the laboratory manager with SOP compliance and quarterly health and safety inspections.

Core Requirements:

• BSc or BTech in Molecular Biology, Biomedical Science  or similar qualification
• 1 -2 years’ hands-on experience in IHC staining
• 1-2 years’ hands-on experience in molecular biology techniques, including RNA and DNA isolation
• Familiar with Good Laboratory Practices (GLP)
• Maintaining experimental records (lab book) and working with protocols and SOP’s
• Understanding of quality control within a laboratory setting
• Valid Code B driver’s licence and ability to travel for sample collection and site activities.

 Advantageous:

• BSc (Hons) in Molecular Biology or related field
• Hands-on experience in immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis.
•  Hands-on experience in sample management and handling of biological specimens
•  Knowledge of laboratory maintenance, including cleaning and autoclaving of glassware, and adherence to occupational health and safety protocols
•  Experience in handling chemicals, biohazardous materials, and biological specimens.
•  Experience of working in a GLP or SANAS-accredited laboratory or similar environment

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Responsibilities:

• Coordinate technical operation of projects according to study protocols.
• Liaise with relevant provincial and district authorities, fieldworkers, facility managers, project manager and co-investigator to plan data collection.
• Management of equipment used during data collection at study site.
• Manage/supervise fieldworkers’ performance at study site including staff training.
• Organization and management of data, including data entry and record keeping.
• Monitor progress of research activities and generate regular and ad-hoc reports as required using excel and/or statistical analysis tools.
• Communicate the research outputs.
• Plan, coordinate and manage all logistics and operational aspects of the project and field sites.

Requirements

• A 3-year qualification (diploma/degree) in any health/social science or business administration.
• Fluent in Xitsonga or Tshivenda
• Code 8/10 driver’s license
• At least 1-year recent experience working on an environmental/public health project in research setting.
• Experience in writing project reports.
• Willing and able to travel 

Advantageous:

• Experience with community engagement
• Experience with supply chain procedures

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Responsibilities:

• Conduct laboratory tissue culture, molecular experiments and manage animal experiments.
• Publish articles in peer-reviewed journals.
• Apply for research funding from national and international stakeholders.
• To supervise/co-supervise postgraduate students (MSc and PhD).
• Principal investigator (PI) and Co-PI on research projects.
• Review for international peer-reviewed scientific journals.
• Review research grants and abstracts for conferences.
• Give special (invited) talks at national/ international conferences or seminars.
• Oral presentations.
• Effectively manage, train and develop students and staff.
• Assist with the management of the BRIP Platform and involvement in SAMRC administrative/community engagement processes.

Core Requirements:

• Master’s degree in molecular biology, Human Genetics, or a related field and registered for a PhD
• At least 5 years of hands-on research experience in tissue culture, IHC, flow cytometry, mitochondrial bioenergetics and echocardiograph analysis workflow
• At least 5 years of hands-on experience with qRT-PCR, Western Blot, ELISA and related molecular biological workflow.
• 1 year of experience in basic Cheminformatics
• At least 5 years of experience in animal experimental design
• A track record in publishing 5 lifetime publications, with 3 as first author (ISI journal articles)
• Track record of leading research projects in the last 5 years
• Proven skills in data and statistical analysis
• Ability to independently plan experimental workflows for multiple experiments
• Track record of supervising Honors and MSc students
• Experience with Oral presentations at local and international conferences
• Experience in reviewing research papers and/or national grants
• At least five years of experience in project management and data management

 Advantageous: 

• PhD in Biochemistry, Physiology or related field
• Experience with Good Clinical/Laboratory Practices.
• A track record of supervising Honors/MSc/PhD students
• A track record in the initiation and management of several research projects.
• >5 years of knowledge and research experience in Metabolic diseases (obesity/ diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases)