Research Assistant/Technician 4

Staff - Non Union

Job Category

Non Union Technicians and Research Assistants

Job Profile

Non Union Salaried - Research Assistant /Technician 4

Job Title

Research Assistant/Technician 4

Department

Administrative Management | Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences | Faculty of Medicine

Compensation Range

$5,220.98 - $6,124.46 CAD Monthly

Posting End Date

June 25, 2026

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

Job End Date

June 30, 2027

This position is expected to be filled by promotion/reassignment and is included here to inform you of its vacancy at the University.

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary
Under supervision of Body Program faculty lead, employee will provide support in the Gross Anatomy laboratory and other Gross Anatomy teaching areas. The employee will exercise a considerable amount of judgment, responsibility, and initiative in determining work procedures and methods as they relate to the administration of the Body Donation Program. The employee will coordinate the use of anatomical material for research and education in collaboration with and under the supervision of the faculty Lead. The employee will be responsible for managing the lab.

Organizational Status
Employee works from oral and written instructions or schedule, and will report to Body Program Manager to discuss new and unusual problems.

Work Performed
Prosector (50%)

· Exercises knowledge of anatomy dissection in order to prepare wet specimens for demonstration teaching purposes and for plastination.

Plastination

· Dissects human cadavers required for plastination

· Exercises knowledge of chemical or histology procedures.

· Exercises safety knowledge of handling of hazardous chemicals.

· Oversees and trains technical staff in the morgue in plastination techniques.

Gross Anatomy Laboratory (20%)

· Coordinate delivery of bodies and prosections to the university, to other sites (UNBC, UVIC, UBC-O) and hospitals, and to funeral homes for cremation.

· Responsible for developing and designing new technological updates on body program database.

· Develop improved workflow for the administration of the Body Donation Program in collaboration with the Faculty Lead.

· maintain and organize student bone collection and prosected specimens; cataloguing these collections.

· Maintain Gross Anatomy medical student laboratories, morgue and dissecting areas including: cleaning cadaver trays, counters, sinks, commodes and laboratory floors as required; washing instruments; tidying rooms; replacing, and organizing supplies; putting away specimens; making solutions.

· Research new technologies as they relate to the maintenance of a modern gross anatomy laboratory. Discuss these findings with the Faculty Lead and coordinate any possible implementation of these new technologies with them.

· Oversee the management of chemical inventory for gross anatomy teaching labs and morgue

· Receive bodies and prepare, embalm and store.

· Receive body program phone calls from families, and doctors, and make decisions as to acceptance of the body based on a “check list” of questions and the doctor’s experience.

· Set-up and invigilation of anatomy lab examinations.

· Keep accurate records of all program related data including number of students attending the labs, total scheduled hours in the GAL, uses of cadaver and/or prosected material. This data will be essential at year-end.

· Develop, review and update all SOPs as they relate to the administration of the Body Donation Program

· Train new staff and oversee the work of current staff and ensure compliance with safety protocols on a daily basis.

· Move cadavers into coolers and onto dissecting tables; move dissecting tables and other lab equipment

· Other duties as required in the Gross Laboratory lab.

Anatomical Material for Education and Research - Workshops

· Upon approval of anatomical applications liaise with UBC departments to schedule courses.

· Process anatomical requests from multiple postgraduate surgical departments simultaneously including but not limited to the following UBC Departments:

Dept. Family Practice, Dept. Surgery, Dept. Plastic Surgery, St Paul’s Hospital Emergency Department, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dept. of Family Practice, Dept. of Radiology, Dept. of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dept. of Emergency Medicine

· Process anatomical requests from the following external groups:

Clinical Education Department, BC Emergency Health Services, American Association of Implant Dentistry, Pacific Training Institute of Facial Aesthetics.

· Allocate and determine the suitability of anatomical material for surgical and educational courses and research projects.

· Process applications for anatomical material for surgical courses.

· Track and acquire serology samples from donors.

· Process anatomical requests for research and education.

· Process anatomical requests from the following external groups:

Clinical Education Department, BC Emergency Health Services, American Association of Implant Dentistry, Pacific Training Institute of Facial Aesthetics

· Accurate data entry of donors associated with workshops.

· Create invoices and track payment for anatomical requests.

· Data entry and log record of anatomy swipe cards.

· Arrange transportation of anatomical material to and from CESEI, St. Paul’s Hospital, VGH and other locations within BC for surgical courses.

Other Duties (10%)

· With the help of instructors, responsible for determining and making available specimens for medical, dental and physiotherapy student laboratories sessions and external workshops.

· Responsible for all MSDS and compliance to all safety regulations, WHMIS

· Facilitate operation of the Gross Anatomy Lab during teaching sessions

· May be required to assist the AV technicians with minor duties in the lab and lecture theatres.

· Order supplies including chemicals, and equipment for the Gross Anatomy teaching labs, and morgue.

· Perform minor maintenance in the lab if required.

· Other duties in the teaching areas as may be required by the Department.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
• Follows procedures and protocols as outlined by supervisor.

• Unusual problems are referred to supervisor.

Supervision Received
Body Program Manager is the supervisor. Overall responsibility is provided by the Director of the Body Donation Program. The employee will work with minimum supervision, receiving specific instructions only on unusual problems or on matters, which depart significantly from established policy and procedure. Supervision may occur when changes in procedures are introduced, and when difficulty is encountered with body acceptance.

Supervision Given
· Supervise junior research technicians in the lab, ensuring SOPs are adhered to.

· Create a training folder for new employees.

Minimum Qualifications
Completion of a university degree in a relevant discipline or technical program and a minimum four years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Some positions may require a graduate degree.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

· Four years of related experience in working clinical environment preferred.

· Proven ability to carry out moderately complex procedures without supervision.

· Good communication skills required in dealing with students and public.

· Discreteness in dealing with Body Donor Program.

· Effective oral and written communication, interpersonal and organizational skills.

· Must be able to work with FileMaker Pro database.

· Ability to work both independently and within a team environment.

· Proficiency in computer applications is required.