Research Associate in Bioinformatics and Machine Learning Applications to Stem Cell Bioengineering

The School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver campus is seeking a passionate and collaborative Research Associate committed to advancing inclusive and interdisciplinary science. The Research Associate will join an international team applying state-of-the-art machine learning technologies to stem cell and immune engineering in the Stem Cell Bioengineering Laboratory. This position will provide leadership and project management for bioinformatics and machine learning research projects.

The School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME) is a partnership between the Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Applied Science, acting as a nucleus for education and training, research, and innovation in biomedical engineering, creating new knowledge, new academic and training programs, and fostering translation and innovation. Its vision is to transform health care outcomes through unconstrained exploration of the best possible integrative solutions across engineering, medicine, and biology. Through collaborative, innovative, and interdisciplinary approach and building on UBC academic and research excellence, the School of Biomedical Engineering aspires to be a global leader in biomedical engineering research, education and translation. For more information about the School of Biomedical Engineering, please visit https://www.sbme.ubc.ca/.

The Stem Cell Bioengineering Lab (https://www.stemcellbioengineering.ca), located in UBC’s School of Biomedical Engineering, develops integrated computational and experimental approaches to enable advanced therapies from renewable sources. With expertise in quantitative bioengineering, machine learning, and systems immunology, our team aims to accelerate discovery and translation in regenerative medicine and immune engineering technologies.

Organizational Status
The Research Associate will report directly to Dr. Peter Zandstra and will closely collaborate with other leading academic and biotech institutions on research projects.

Work Performed

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to collaborate with the members of the lab, other academic and biotech institutions involved in the projects and work with a diverse team on high impact research that drives innovation in the field. The responsibilities of this position include:

• Managing projects related to bioinformatics and machine learning application in the field of cell and gene therapy.
• Identifying and co-leading applications for new sources of funding for projects, including grants and collaborative research agreements.
• Working with academic and industry collaborators to establish project milestones and deliverables and ensure that they are achieved on schedule.
• Leading efforts to develop a framework for software development and release that is compliant with knowledge sharing policies of granting agencies and publishers.
• Managing computational resources within our group, including software licensing and database access.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Computational Biology or a related discipline.
• Experience in bioinformatics of single cell transcriptomics or other single cell -omics.
• Experience managing research projects involving multiple stakeholders within an academic setting.
• Familiarity with machine learning applications to biology is an asset.

Start date and stipend

The expected start date is April 13, 2026. The position is located at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver campus). The position is full-time for at least a 12-month term with the possibility of extension subject to funding availability and work performance. The expected salary for this position is between $80,000 and $100,000 per year.