How to show initiative as a Co-op student in a lab

by | Feb 5, 2021

Working in a lab isn’t easy. Not only do you deal with experimental failures and demanding supervisors, you also work with other staff, postdocs, PhD students, and undergrads who are under the same pressures. People are often given bench space and encouraged to sort out the personal side of things themselves.

Geniuses still have to clean the lab

Scientific research is tough, and everyone worked hard to be here. Many of us strived to be at the top of our class from high school onwards and are used to overachieving. However, being very smart and hardworking does not absolve you of your responsibilities. Being under pressure is not an excuse for leaving basic housekeeping to others. You might be busy but you aren’t important enough to skip out on cleaning so get out the disinfectant and roll up your sleeves!

Lab cooperation starts with you

Personal differences in the lab can seem like minor annoyances but consider how much time and money is potentially wasted. Maybe equipment and bench space become filthy because no one is willing to take responsibility, leading to contamination issues. A lack of cooperation can lead to precious dollars and time being wasted. So, how can these problems be addressed before they become major issues?

Keep your part of the lab clean and organized and take the time to keep shared areas clean as well. You could also suggest social events for the lab to encourage a harmonious workplace and allow information sharing in an informal setting.

Even if you’re a still learning to hold a pipette the right way, there’s something you can do to help your lab become a more enjoyable and productive place to work.

What you need to know to get into a research lab

What you need to know to get into a research lab

by | Feb 4, 2021

Working as an undergraduate in a lab on campus will look good on your resume, and will help you connect core concepts across classes and departments. The process of getting into a lab can feel like an intimidating, unknown goal. It’s broken down here into steps that you can work on over the course of your term.

Step 1: Figure Out What You Like

It’s crucial that you have an idea of type of research you want to do. Try to get an idea of what piques your interest. Go to guest lectures on campus, read Nature, watch TED Talks, read science books on the Amazon best seller list; whatever. The point is to be like a sponge: absorb as much as you can and you’ll naturally find yourself drawn to certain subjects.

Step 2: Find Some People Who Like it Too

UVic has clubs for each scientific major. Getting involved with these groups will allow you to learn more about your interests and meet students who are already working in a lab and who know if any labs on campus are hiring. Surrounding yourself with people who are interested what you’re interested in will keep you excited and in the know about new research in the field. You may also be able to find out which faculty member is the clubs “sponsor” or “advisor”, which brings us to step 3.

Step 3: Find a Professor Who’s Doing Something Related to Your Interest

You probably won’t be able to find a professor who’s researching exactly what you’re interested in. However, that isn’t your goal. Your goal is to find a research lab where you can learn and begin to understand common techniques and theories in your field of interest. You may want to work in a very specific field of genetic engineering, but any lab where you have to figure out how to use restriction enzymes is going to be incredibly helpful to you.

Getting any hands-on experience and truly grounding your understanding of the basics is what’s going to help you get a solid start.

UVic Science departments have individual pages for each professor that describes the type of research they do, the classes they teach, and provide links to recently published papers by the professor. Read these pages. These will be immensely helpful in quickly figuring out whom you do and don’t want to contact.

Step 4: Get a Hold of a Few Professors and See if They Have Lab Space

Once you’ve chosen a few professors, send them an email expressing interest in “sitting down and talking” to give them the impression that you want to meet with them in person – say whatever feels natural to you.

Chances are, you aren’t going to hear back after the first email, but don’t be discouraged! You know how busy your semester is? Now multiply that by responsibilities like applying for research funding, having a family, supervising grad students, and planning lectures and you’ll understand why your email may slip through the cracks. So email them again! And if they don’t respond to that, call and leave a brief voice mail. You want to be tactful, but don’t give up after one email. Don’t be afraid to persist until you get an explicit answer as to whether or not they’re willing to talk.

Mock Interview Job Descriptions 

by | Jan 6, 2021

SCRIPT:

Today you are being interviewed for a co-op position.  The interview session will be for 30 minutes, 20 minutes for questions and 10 minutes for feedback.  I will make notes during the interview so please don’t worry if I am not always making eye contact.  My goal is to run through some typical interview questions and provide some suggestions on any areas where you might be able to improve.

BCMB 01: Student Clinical Trials Assistant, BC Cancer Agency – Genome Sciences Centre 

Job Description: 

Applications are invited for a highly motivated and compassionate university student, preferably with previous experience working in a laboratory setting, for the position of Student Clinical Trials Assistant at the British Columbia Cancer Agency’s Cancer Research Centre, Department of Experimental Therapeutics in Vancouver, Canada. The successful candidate will join a team of clinical trials PK managers to collect blood and other bodily fluids samples from patients enrolled in clinical trials, ranging from Phase I-III. This position will be supporting the clinical trials arm of Experimental Therapeutics and the candidate will be working with strictly confidential patient information and adhering to strict protocols.

Typical duties for this position will involve: 

(i) collecting and processing patient samples taken by the nurse for the clinical trials program, 

(ii) transporting patients’ samples from hospital to the laboratory, 

(iii) documenting collected data in forms and (iv) preparing samples for shipment.  The candidate will be exposed to highly confidential information from patients who are experiencing different stages of cancer, and will need to handle all information in a professional and considerate manner. 

Qualifications: 

This position requires the candidate to be able to work occasional non-conventional hours, for example, some late evenings and/or weekends.  The ideal candidate will have previous laboratory training and be familiar with sterile techniques.  The candidate needs to demonstrate attention to detail, ability to multi-task, and ability to meet deadlines. 

BCMB 02: R&D Cell Based Screening and Antibody Characterization, Amgen Canada

Job Description:  

The co-op will be part of a high-energy, fast paced team responsible for cell screening and antibody characterization in our antibody discovery process.  The team utilizes state of the art screening platforms such as high through put Flow Cytometry, Cellinsight CX7 and Cellomics Arrayscan.  In addition to becoming proficient in cell screening, the co-op will maintain a variety of cell lines and will be responsible for cell transfections and general lab management duties.  The co-op will have the opportunity to develop novel assays to assist in characterizing lead antibodies in therapeutic and non-therapeutic antibody generation programs. The co-op will be exposed to a highly collaborative environment and will be working on multiple tasks simultaneously.

Essential Functions:  

Performs a variety of Cell-based assays: 

  • assays used to characterize the immune response in immunized animals 
  • high-throughput cell screens to identify antigen specific antibodies 
  • functional assays to characterize antibodies for epitope specificity, ligand blocking and species reactivity 
  • Gain strong working knowledge of Flow Cytometry, Cellinsight CX7 and Arrayscan 
  • Critically evaluate data and present results to the team 
  • Tissue culture and transfections 
  • Optimize/develop assays 
  • Opportunity to learn other techniques/platforms such as ELISA, Bio-Layer Interferometry (Octet®) and automation 

Basic Qualifications: 

  • 18 years or older 
  • Currently enrolled in a full time Bachelor’s degree program from an accredited college or university with a 3.0 minimum GPA or equivalent 
  • Completion of one year of study from an accredited college or university prior to the internship commencing 
  • Enrolled in a full time Bachelor’s or Combined Bachelor’s/Master’s degree program following the potential internship or co-op assignment with an accredited college or university 
  • Must not be employed at the time the internship starts 

Preferred Qualifications: 

  • In the process of earning a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Biology/Microbiology, Life Sciences, Chemical Engineering, or related discipline 
  • Previous lab experience. 
  • General knowledge of immunology & molecular biology 
  • Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail 
  • Ability to function effectively as part of a team 
  • Able to work for two consecutive four month terms with continued employment for the second term dependent on a positive performance review at the end of the first term. 

BCMB 03: Plant Biology Co-op Student, Agriculture and Agrifood Canada – Saskatoon Research and Development Centre 

Job Description: 

 The Canadian Prairies are the arable Heartland of our Country, but a tough place for crops to grow due to the short growing season and challenging weather conditions. We are interested in helping seedling crops get off to a better start in cold spring conditions. One project involves studying germination and establishment of canola seeds from a lipid perspective, and I am looking for an enthusiastic COOP student to help with this this work. We apply a range of techniques from lipid analysis by GC and GC-MS to molecular biology and genomics to better understand how canola crops under challenging temperature conditions. The COOP placement would be for a student willing to try a little of everything, from simple microscopy to molecular biology and lipid analysis. This would be a great introduction to a career in a plant research laboratory environment, or just a great way to enhance your laboratory skills. As an 8 month term is an option, there would also be an opportunity to put on boots and do some real field work. 

Training will be given to allow the successful candidate to develop a range of skills and to work independently. 

Qualifications: 

Good organizational and time management skills are essential. The candidate must be a Canadian citizen and must pass security screening to work in a Government of Canada facility. 

BCMB 04: Co-op Research Assistant, Lallemand

Company description:
Lallemand Inc. is one of the biggest Canadian companies that develop, produce and commercialize yeasts, bacteria, and its derived products with the objective to reproduce, manage, and improve fermentation processes in the food and agricultural industry. Our products are largely used in baking, alcohol and fermented food, and human and animal nutrition.

Job description:
The intern will work in the Lallemand Beer Lab of the Brewing Division. He/she will have the opportunity to familiarise with yeast physiology, its propagating conditions in a fermenter, and the direct application of brewing yeasts. The intern will perform a complete follow up of beer fermentations in the frame of different research and development projects and quality control analysis. He/she will apply several microbiological and biochemical techniques specific to this domain. The intern will follow the kinetics of alcoholic fermentations with different yeast strains and beer worts.  

Qualifications: 

  • Student must have a broad range of microbiology and biochemistry lab skills and a passion for scientific discovery. 
  • The position requires a certain amount of flexibility as well as a willingness to develop a greater degree of autonomous research while working within a small team. 

BCMB 05: Microbiology Laboratory Technician, Environment and Climate Change Canada – Pacific Environmental Science Centre 

Job Description: 

  • Assist in the daily operation and maintenance of ECCC’s North Vancouver headquarters microbiology laboratory. 
  • Carry out routine Quality Control/Quality Assurance testing for supporting lab procedures. 
  • Assist in all aspects of pre-analysis preparation such as making up media, sterilizing sample bottles and preparing field supplies. 
  • Assist in all aspects of post-analysis clean-up of field supplies and laboratory equipment including cleaning test tubes, sample bottles, pipettes and waterbaths. 
  • Assist with administrative tasks in the daily operation of the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program such as photocopying, filing and computer work. 
  • Possible participation in field work away from home including work on small boats. 

Preferred Experience: 

  • Experience in preparing growth media and bacterial culture for microbiological analysis using aseptic technique.
    Experience in utilizing computer systems for data processing and office functions such as e-mail, word processing, and spreadsheets. 

Preferred Knowledge: 

  • Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program – Manual of Operations 
  • Work Hazardous Material Information System (WHMIS) and Lab Safety. 
  • Methods, techniques and modern instrumentation used in a water quality microbiology laboratory. 
  • Laboratory Quality Assurance/Quality Control practices applied in an accredited laboratory setting. 
  • Use and maintenance of microbiology laboratory glassware and cleaning. 
  • Calibration, operation, and basic maintenance of analytical instrumentation. 
  • Risks of working with acids, alkalis, chemicals and pathogenic bacteria. 

Abilities: 

  • Ability to follow acceptable quality control procedures within the scope of performing accredited analytical methods. 
  • Ability to validate data and demonstrate acceptable test performance. 
  • Ability to carry out multiple laboratory tests simultaneously. 
  • Ability to work in a safe manner in a microbiology laboratory environment. 
  • Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing. 

Personal Suitability: 

  • Effective interpersonal relationships 
  • Initiative 
  • Judgment 
  • Dependability 
  • Flexibility 

 

Using the Experience Cube to Plan Difficult Conversations

by | Nov 19, 2020

(From Clear Leadership by Gervase Bushe)

The experience cube can be a helpful tool to plan and manage your difficult conversations. Using the four elements of the experience cube: Observations, Thoughts, Feelings and Wants helps you to separate your experience with the situation from your potential judgements about the situation. This approach removes blame and minimizes defensiveness, facilitating a positive discussion.

Observations: Sensory data (information you take in through your senses), primarily what you see and hear. What a video camera would record.

Thoughts: The meaning you add to your observations (i.e., the way you make sense of them, including your beliefs, expectations, assumptions, judgments, values and principles). We call this the “story you make up”.

Feelings: Your emotional or physiological response to the thoughts and observations. Feelings words such as sad, mad, glad, scared, or a description of what is happening in your body.

Wants: Clear description of the outcome you seek. Wants go deeper than a simple request for action. Once you clearly state what you want, there may be different ways to achieve it.

Walking the cube does not need to be a linear process, you can start anywhere in the Cube and intersperse questions and check-in points. Ensure that you own your story find your own words. Use “I” statements:

  • I observe: “I’ve noticed…”, “I saw that…”, “I heard you say…”
  • I think: “I believe that was…”, “I think it is…”, “My story is…”
  • I feel: “I’m really pleased….”, “It concerned me when….”, “I appreciate your commitment to….”, “It troubled me ….”
  • I want: “I want to…”; “I need…”; “I wish…”, “I hope…”

Here’s an example:

“The bulk of my work so far is in the tissue culture room and my desk is not in the main lab. I don’t like being isolated from the rest of the lab and I believe this isolation is contributing to making the right progress with the project. I want to know that my project is heading in the right direction and to feel like I’m part of a team. What can we change?”

Tips for confident speaking

by | Nov 19, 2020

Guest writer: Emma Coleman, Science Co-op Peer Mentor and Chemistry Co-op Student

Practice!

Interviews are stressful situations and one way to make them less scary is to practice your answers to common interview questions. This week’s IPP session and the mock interviews are great places to practice your interview skills and gain confidence. 

 Breathe.

The speaker in the video demonstrates a breathing technique that can be a helpful way to calm yourself down before entering a stressful situation like interviewing. 

Thinking.

Remember that it is okay to take a little bit of time to think about your answers before you start speaking. One way to avoid rambling answers is to take a moment to plan your response in your head before you start saying it out loud. 

Using industry newsletters to help your job hunt

by | Apr 26, 2020

Depending on your field, there’s always a newsletter that your can add your email address to. Industry newsletters usually have a section for job postings. Even if you don’t see a job that you think you’re qualified for, this is a great way to see who’s hiring.

These are the newsletters that I opt in to:

Biotech and Pharma

General Science

 

Crafting your Elevator Pitch

by | Mar 13, 2020

Connecting with people in your field is a required component of Introduction to Professional Practice  for science co-op students students that teaches new co-op how to choose a job opportunity to apply for, prepare for and submit an application, prepare for an interview, and how to create your own opportunity.

As part of their course requirements, students can choose to work on an elevator pitch. Here’s how to build your pitch.

Who are you?

Keep it short. What would you most want the listener to remember about you?

What you can do?

Here is where you state your value phrased as key results or impact. To organize your thoughts, it may help to think of this as your tag line, or purpose statement.

Why are you doing it?

Now it’s time to show the unique benefits that you and/ or your company bring. Show what you do that is different or better than others

What are your goals?

Describe your immediate goals. Goals should be concrete and realistic. Include a time frame. This is the final step and it should be clear to the listener what you are asking of him or her.

Vocabulary

Use words that show what you do instead of tell: advanced, approved, authoritative, certified, confirmed, dominant, early, endorsed, established, finest, foremost, inaugural, inceptive, key, responsive …

Practise practise practise so you don’t repeat words or ramble, but be careful not to sound like you’re reciting off a script.

Be flexible. If your audience asks a question or looks like he or she wants to interrupt, be willing to go in a new direction. After all, the pitch is designed to start a conversation. If that conversation starts sooner, well done!

Introduction to GMPs, GLPs and ISO Standards

by | Mar 9, 2020

Chemical, biotech and pharma industry is required to follow GMPs whenever appropriate.

Students should be able to:

  1. Describe the nature and function of GMPs;
  2. Describe the nature and function of GLPs;
  3. Describe the nature and function of the ISO.

What are Good Manufacturing Practices?

Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) are regulations that describe the methods, equipment, facilities, and controls required for producing:

  • Human and veterinary products
  • Medical devices
  • Processed food

The U.S. regulations are called “current” Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), to emphasize that the expectations are dynamic.

Why do GMPs exist?

GMPs define a quality system that manufacturers use as they build quality INTO their products. For example, approved drug products developed and produced according to GMP are:

  • Safe
  • Properly identified
  • Of the correct strength
  • Pure
  • Of high quality

How were GMPs developed?

Originally, GMPs were based upon the best practices of the industry.

As technology and practices improve, the GMPs also evolved. In the U.S., drug cGMPs were formally introduced in 1963 and significantly rewritten in the 1970’s.

Canadian drug GMPs existed in various forms in the 1950’s-1970’s before being published in their current form in the 1980’s.

How do GMPs change?

GMPs change formally and informally.

Both the U.S. drug cGMPs and Canadian drug GMPs are currently undergoing significant changes.

Example of formal change:

The U.S. medical device GMPs have been completely rewritten, making them more compatible with the ISO-9001 quality document (see www.iso.ch). In fact device GMPs were renamed – FDA now calls them the Quality System Regulation (QSR).

Example of informal change:

Expectations that inspectors have evolved over time.

In the U.S., these changes are communicated by seminars and papers presented by FDA personnel and through agency Guides and Guidelines.

One other way industry personnel can keep track of changes in expectations is by watching the FDA-483s (inspectional observations) and Warning Letters issued to firms by the agency.

How do GMPs of different countries compare?

At a high level, GMPs of various nations are very similar; most require things like:

  • Equipment and facilities being properly designed, maintained, and cleaned
  • Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) be written and approved
  • An independent Quality unit (like Quality Control and/or Quality Assurance)
  • Well trained personnel and management

What are GLPs?

Good Laboratory Practice Regulations exist to assure the quality and integrity of the test data.

All studies are performed according to basic “good practices” including the use of:

  • Written procedures,
  • Trained Associates,
  • Calibrated equipment,
  • Accredited animal facilities,
  • Proper data collection and storage, etc.

ISO Standards

What is the ISO?

  • “International Organization for Standardization”
  • A network of national standards institutes of 147 countries
  • A non-government organization (NGO)
  • Grants an ISO standard status to manufacturing companies who voluntarily meet the requirements

What is ISO 9000?

  • This standard is concerned with “quality management”
  • Customer’s quality requirements, customer satisfaction, applicable regulatory requirements, and continual improvement are the focus of this standard.

What is ISO 14000?

  • This standard is concerned with “environmental management”
  • Minimizing harmful effects on the environment and continual improvement are the focus of this standard.

Source

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/compliance-enforcement/good-manufacturing-practices.html

Learn more with these free courses: https://www.pharmalessons.com/free-courses/

 

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