Research Assistants are normally students, in a University of Winnipeg undergraduate program, employed to assist with tasks related to research. Work is performed within defined guidelines and under supervision of a more senior researcher or faculty member.
Position Overview:
The position of Research Assistant is aimed at an undergraduate student who is interested in learning or currently capable of processing aquatic metagenomic microbial samples in silico. The processing includes (but is not limited to), quality assessment of raw reads, assembly of raw reads, quality check of assemblies, and downstream analyses such as taxonomic and functional annotations. The Research Assistant is also expected to optimize the pipeline by testing multiple programmes and tools. Additionally they will be required to (at minimum) produce a report useful for transfer of knowledge, including figures and tables of their results alongside conclusions. This position is concentrated on in silico work, consequently the student should be prepared to work primarily on a Linux OS/UNIX workstation.
Duties:
- Perform academic research, standard tests and experiments. All research will be conducted in silico, and results will be included in a report that includes an overview of related primary literature. Research will include metagenomic assembly, reads mapping, gene prediction, taxonomic annotation, functional annotation, alpha diversity and other ecological metrics, and the production of figures and tables such as heatmaps representing taxonomic diversity, and tables including assembly statistics and evaluations.
- Monitor and document research status and findings. Good note taking and documentation of programmes and tools used will be critical to accomplish this work.
- Assist with duties related to the production of articles, publications, reports and presentations. Prepare literature reviews. There will be an opportunity for the written report to be translated into scientific dissemination in the form of a peer-reviewed paper or other format(s).
- Perform data/word processing, routine computations, and record keeping. Data management and organization will be key to the success of this role.
Qualifications:
- Qualified candidates need to have excelled in courses related to Academic Writing, Statistical Analyses, and Microbiology. The individual should be working towards an undergraduate degree, specifically a Bachelors of Science. A GPA of 4.0 or above is considered competitive for this position.
- The applicant should have experience in word processing and working with excel sheets. They should be familiar with experimental design, and methods and theory of microbiology. A competitive applicant will be motivated to learn in silico skills related to bioinformatics, or have some experience.
- The Research Assistant will be expected to work onsite using a computer for a significant portion of their work day.
Condition(s) of Employment:
- Must be legally entitled to work in Canada.
The period of work will be from June 1, 2025 - August 31, 2025 and the estimated total hours of work will be 300-350 hours.
Note: This position is represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada - Research Capacity Unit.
Note: The work described in this posting will be conducted in-person.
The University of Winnipeg is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and recognizes that a diverse staff and faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research environments, and is essential to academic and institutional excellence. We welcome applications from all qualified individuals and encourage women, racialized persons, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQ+ persons to confidentially self-identify at time of application.
The University of Winnipeg is committed to ensuring employment opportunities are accessible for all applicants. If you require accommodation supports during the recruitment process, please contact human_resources@uwinnipeg.ca.
The personal information of applicants is collected under the authority of the University of Winnipeg Act and 36(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. All personal information collected via the recruitment process is used to assess the applicant’s suitability, eligibility, and qualifications for employment, and to otherwise support recruitment activities. This information will be provided to participating members of the recruitment process. Questions regarding the collection of your personal information may be directed to the Director, HR Services, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9 or human_resources@uwinnipeg.ca.