Research Specialist, Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Location
Karachi, Pakistan

Introduction
Aga Khan University chartered in 1983 as Pakistan's first private international university, is committed to the provision of education, research, and health care of international standards relevant to Pakistan and the region. The affiliated Aga Khan University Hospital provides state-of-the-art clinical facilities and well-equipped diagnostic services. The University currently has teaching sites in Pakistan, East Africa, the United Kingdom, and Afghanistan, and is a major component of Aga Khan Development Network.

As an equal opportunity employer, AKU believes in promoting a diverse and inclusive culture and is committed to adopt appropriate standards for safeguarding and promoting a respectful relationship with and between diverse workforce of its faculty, staff, trainees, volunteers, beneficiaries, wider communities, and other stakeholders with whom it works, including children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees/trainees and partners to share this commitment.

The Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences strives to achieve excellence in both teaching and research. The development and expansion of educational and thematic research programs in innovative and relevant basic and applied research will take AKU to the next level on the international scene while benefiting the specific health care needs of Pakistan.

This is a grant funded contractual position.

Responsibilities:

You will be responsible to:

• participate in multidisciplinary research in communicable and non-communicable diseases which involves collaboration within and outside
• BBS faculty, independently or in collaboration with other research teams and faculty members
• able to write and publish research papers in peer-reviewed journals highlight findings from research and experimental activities
• assist supervisory team(s) in procuring research funding, particularly international competitively funded grants in cooperation with the research office
• administer grants, including ordering and preparing documentation
• network and collaborate both internally and externally
• establish collaborative research linkages with other institutions to foster research
• utilize resources efficiently and through collaborations to complete research plan
• support the teaching agenda of BBS, assisting UGME, MPhil and PhD students

• informal teaching to students, staff and research volunteers

• write and publish research papers in peer-reviewed journals highlight findings from research and experimental activities
• participate/facilitate in capacity building workshops, thematic Research Seminars and Journal Clubs organized by the department
• promote effective intra- and inter-departmental relationships and ensure proper communication
• identify additional research questions and alternate methodologies
• provide mentorship to junior team members with respect to their professional development
• prepare budgets for research grants, track BVR/ledger, and prepare financial and technical reports of grants
• able to write and publish research papers in peer-reviewed journals highlight findings from research and experimental activities.

Requirements:

You should have:

• minimum Masters/MPhil in biological sciences or relevant field; a PhD is preferable
• hands-on experience of molecular biology techniques for example: PCR, qPCR, cloning, genomics library preparation for long and short read sequencing, Sanger sequencing and NGS, genomics and transcriptomic data analyses, Western blotting, as well as histopathology including immuno-histochemistry, immuno-fluorescence and imaging.
• publications in relevant field
• strong management, coordination and organizational skills
• ability to work in a challenging environment
• excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills
• the ability to multi-task several projects and work in fast paced environment
• proven ability to work well with certain degree of autonomy and function successfully in a team

Comprehensive employment reference checks will be conducted.