Postdoctoral Fellow Opportunity
Department of Pediatrics and Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
We are looking for a postdoctoral fellow who will strive to make a meaningful impact on child health by contributing to leading-edge research aimed at improving pain management.
In light of the current opioid crisis, there is increased urgency to balance both safety and effectiveness of opioid-based analgesics, while simultaneously limiting the use of opioids. Given the resulting hesitancy associated with prescribing opioids, we are likely undertreating pain in children. This can be particularly devastating in children with high burdens of pain, such as children with cancer, where ongoing pain can interfere with brain development, disrupt behaviour, and increase the risk of chronic pain.
Safe and effective pain management is influenced by individual genetic differences that dictate both how we feel pain and how we respond to specific analgesics. Using pharmacogenomics, the study of how genetic variability contributes to individual drug responses, we are identifying genetic factors that can help predict an individual’s need for, and subsequent response to, opioids.
As part of the Loucks Pain Management Pharmacogenomics (PMP) Lab, and the multi-disciplinary Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety (CPNDS), the candidate will work closely with clinicians, scientists and patients across Canada to advance a pipeline from genetic discoveries to predictive genetic testing to help select the safest and most effective pain management strategies for children based on their unique genetic signatures.
The candidate will lead projects focused on improving pain management through pharmacogenomics, where the candidate will work toward at least one of the following goals:
Goal 1. Design, conduct, and disseminate findings of genetic association studies aimed at uncovering genetic factors that lead to variability in pain perception and response to opioids
- Focused on predicting variability in opioid-based pain relief for children and occurrence of painful toxicities resulting from childhood cancer treatment (e.g., methotrexate-induced mucositis)
- Opportunities to explore other pain management questions stemming from collaborative pursuits and develop clinical practice guidelines to enable clinical implementation of genetic testing
Goal 2. Investigate how genetic factors contribute to differences in pain perception and response to opioids using C. elegans as a model
- Investigating known, and discovering novel, genetic components that influence pain/nociception and response to opioids (e.g., morphine) in C. elegans
- Working to validate roles for novel genetic factors, uncovered through genetic association studies, that contribute to differences in pain perception and response to opioids
The candidate will conduct research at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute where they will have access to CPNDS-developed state-of-the-art equipment/infrastructure for comprehensive genomic discovery/validation analyses, including high-throughput genotyping platforms and secure computing/bioinformatics/storage infrastructure. As part of recently-acquired CFI-JELF funding awarded to the Loucks Pain Management Pharmacogenomics Lab, the candidate will also have access to state-of-the-art infrastructure that forms the basis of a C. elegans validation platform, including microscopes (stereo, injection and fluorescent) and an automated behavioural tracker.
The candidate will report directly to Dr. Catrina Loucks, a geneticist experienced in conducting pharmacogenomic studies and using the simple roundworm C. elegans to validate genetic discoveries. The candidate will also benefit from close collaborations with CPNDS-trained clinicians at 32 Canadian centres to support patient recruitment, highly experienced lab managers/technicians, Dr. Bruce Carleton (clinical pharmacologist), Dr. Colin Ross (geneticist) and Dr. Shahrad (Rod) Rassekh (pediatric oncologist), who together have extensive expertise/success in drug safety and effectiveness research spanning genetic discoveries, validation of findings using a variety of model systems and incorporation of predictive genetic testing into clinical care.
Applicants with a background in, and enthusiasm for, pharmacogenetics/pharmacogenomics, C. elegans research, medical genetics, molecular biology, genomics/bioinformatics, data science, clinical pharmacology, or other related fields are encouraged to apply. If interested, please submit a cover letter detailing your interest in one (or both) of the above-mentioned goals, curriculum vitae and three references to:
Dr. Catrina Loucks, MSc, PhD | Assistant Professor | email: cloucks@popi.ubc.ca
The expected pay (or pay range) for this position is $55,000 per annum.
This offer is conditional upon successful completion of a Criminal Record Check.
Further Information
Please review this website for additional details.
Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.