RESEARCH TECHNICIAN

KwaZulu-Natal | eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality | Umlazi | Contract

The Health Systems Trust (HST) wishes to appoint a highly motivated Research Technician to support the laboratory needs of clinical and translational research projects conducted at Health System Trust’s FRESH clinical research site (CRS), located at Megacity in Umlazi, KZN. Research projects will focus on the role of the female genital tract microbiome in health outcomes such as HIV acquisition and preterm birth. The Site: FRESH is a groundbreaking initiative that integrates scientific research with community empowerment. The research technician will work closely with FRESH staff and with research technicians from the HIV Pathogenesis Programme (HPP) based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Nelson Mandela School of Medicine in Durban. Research Focus: Research will focus on the female genital tract microbiome and its impact on health outcomes such as HIV acquisition and preterm birth. Additionally, investigations will assess how bacterial interactions shape the composition of the vaginal microbiome, which is known to impact female sexual and reproductive health. Reporting: The research technician will be co-supervised by FRESH Principal Investigator, Dr Rosie Mngqbisa, and Dr Meilin Zhu who is the Director of Translational Research from the US-based Kwon Lab at the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT and Harvard. At FRESH, Drs Mngqbisa and Zhu lead innovative interventional clinical trials. Techniques and Assays: This laboratory technician will be handling and processing tissue and blood samples, and performing immunologic assays, nucleic acid extractions, PCR, sequencing, preparation of interventional products, and novel assays to study mucosal immune responses to mucosal bacteria. Contract Type: This is a fixed-term contract position, renewable based on performance and availability of funds.