Department: Chemistry and Biology
Position supervisor: Dr. Darius Rackus
Contract length: 1 year
Hours of work per week: 36.25
Position type: Postdoctoral Fellow
Rate of pay: $60,000 - $70,000 CAD annum; commensurate with experience

About Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University)

At the intersection of mind and action, Toronto Metropolitan University is on a transformative path to become Canada’s leading comprehensive innovation university. Integral to this path is the placement of equity, diversity and inclusion as fundamental to our institutional culture. Our current academic plan outlines each as core values and we work to embed them in all that we do.

Toronto Metropolitan University welcomes those who have demonstrated a commitment to upholding the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion and will assist us to expand our capacity for diversity in the broadest sense. In addition, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment in Canada, we encourage applications from members of groups that have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples, Indigenous peoples of North America, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, and those who identify as women and/or 2SLGBTQ+. Please note that all qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, applications from Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

As an employer, we are working towards a people first culture and are proud to have been selected as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers and a Greater Toronto’s Top Employer for 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

About the lab

The Miniaturization in Bioanalysis Laboratory at Toronto Metropolitan University develops miniaturized platforms for chemical and biological measurement, with a focus on integrating electrochemical sensors with microfluidic systems. Our work spans device fabrication, assay development, and analytical method development across a range of bioanalytical applications. We are affiliated with the Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Science and Technology (iBEST) at TMU and St. Michael’s Hospital.

The opportunity

We are looking for a postdoctoral fellow to take the lead on an industry-sponsored project validating a next-generation automated impedance spectroscopy platform. The instrument is currently in preproduction — meaning you will be working with prototype hardware, writing your own data pipelines, and figuring things out before the manual exists. If that sounds frustrating, this probably isn’t the right fit. If it sounds like exactly the kind of problem you want to work on, read on.

Primary responsibility: Instrument validation and biological applications

Lead systematic validation of the platform against established impedance-based instruments using standardized epithelial and endothelial cell models. Work will include cross-platform benchmarking, multicell-line biological validation, and establishing biophysical meaning for instrument-derived spectral features. You will also extend validation to advanced biological models and, in collaboration with partner groups at iBEST, apply the platform to novel biological questions, including contexts relevant to the instrument’s longer-term development roadmap.

Secondary responsibility: Sensing innovation

Lead an exploratory stream investigating augmentation of the platform’s electrode architecture toward multianalyte biological readouts. The lab provides accessto relevant fabrication expertise and resources to support this work.

The position includes hands-on cell culture responsibilities. The lab has in-house cellm ise to support onboarding and troubleshooting as needed, but the primary responsibility for cell line maintenance, assay execution, and day-to-day experimental throughput rests with the postdoctoral fellow. The role also carries supervisory responsibility for undergraduate researchers who will be recruited and trained over the course of the project.

The position also carries responsibility for tracking project milestones and contributing to regular progress reporting to the industry sponsor, including written updates and periodic meetings with the sponsor's technical team. The ability to communicate research findings with precision and concision to an external, commercially-oriented audience is essential.

Qualifications

Required

• PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biophysics, or a closely related field, conferred within the last five years
• Hands-on experience with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and/or TEER-based assays
• Comfort working with pre-production or prototype instrumentation; ability to develop data acquisition or analysis scripts independently
• Ability to perform and oversee cell culture operations in a wet-lab biological environment
• Strong publication record relative to career stage and demonstrated ability to drive a project from experimental design to manuscript submission
• Strong communication skills across diverse teams of stakeholders

Highly desirable

• Experience with epithelial or endothelial barrier models (Caco-2, MDCK, HUVEC, T84, or similar)
• Familiarity with organ-on-a-chip or microphysiological systems platforms
• Experience with iPSC-derived cell lines, organoids, or co-culture systems
• Familiarity with high-throughput assay quality metrics (Z′-factor, CV, signal-to-background)
• Proficiency in equivalent circuit modeling (ZView, EC-Lab, MATLAB, Python-based frameworks, or equivalent)
• Proficiency in Python or MATLAB for automated data pipeline development and batch plate analysis

We also welcome applications from candidates whose primary expertise is in epithelial or endothelial cell biology with working familiarity in impedance-based measurement. If your publication record demonstrates the ability to drive rigorous, high-output biological research, we encourage you to apply and describe how your background maps to the instrumentation demands of this role

How to apply

Please upload a cover letter, CV with complete publication list, and contact details for two references tothe application formby July 1, 2026.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning June 15 for an anticipated July 2026 start date.

Toronto Metropolitan University’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

• We encourage all First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples or Indigenous peoples of North America, to self-identify in their applications. If you are an Indigenous applicant and require support during the recruitment process, please reach out to James McKay, Indigenous HR Lead at james13@torontomu.ca.
• Toronto Metropolitan University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), and aims to ensure that independence, dignity, integration and equality of opportunity are embedded in all aspects of the university culture.
• We will provide an accessible experience for applicants, students, employees, and members of the Toronto Metropolitan University community. We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the recruitment process. If you have restrictions that need to be accommodated to fully participate in any phase of the recruitment process,please reach out to Human Resources:
  • Current employees can contact HR by logging into AskHR to submit a request.
  • External candidates who do not have TMU login credentials can contact HR by visiting torontomu.ca/human-resources/askhr/.
• All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.