Research Technician Cardiovascular
Qmri, Little France, Edinburgh
Providing specialist technical support for the Cardiovascular Research Group, associated clinicians and various international collaborators, projects included:Assaying large quantities of clinical study samples for various biomarkers i.e. high sensitive troponin, creatinine, pro-BNP etc.… using a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay on an Abbot Architect and Roche COBAS E411 in Glasgow Southern General clinical biochemistry lab, working to GLP standards, including running standards / QCs, testing for assay drift and finding / solving technical problems.Assisting with numerous clinical studies in the CRF Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, assaying clinical samples by ELISA and data analysis of results.ACCORD designated Responsible Scientist for the CTIMP Diamond study, a dual anti-platelet study funded by Astra Zenica / Welcome Trust, researching the effects of Ticagelor in patients with high-risk coronary plaques by flow cytometry, prep of all antibodies / reagents and flow cytometry data analysis, all to GLP standards.Investigating the cardiovascular effects of diesel particulate matter through monocyte separation / culture / treatment with various particles, HUVEC cell culture experiments, LDH assay, measurement of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, MCP1 etc.…) by ELISA, EPR measurement of oxidative stress, myography, particle sizing, wavelength absorption measurement, endotoxin LAL assay, histology etc.….. and data analysis of results.Extracting RNA / DNA from blood and tissue for the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE), SCOTHEART and TRIBBLES studies.Responsible for managing the group’s freezer facilities (10x -80C freezers) and large number of research samples, sourcing samples throughout the UK / abroad, shipping globally and all sample record keeping.Assisting with the smooth running of the lab: purchasing and maintaining equipment & stocks, organising equipment validation / calibration to meet GLP requirements etc