Icaria (Pregmrs Study)

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) is a cutting-edge institute addressing global public health challenges through research, translation into policy and education. ISGlobal has a broad portfolio in communicable and non-communicable diseases including environmental and climate determinants, and applies a multidisciplinary scientific approach ranging from the molecular to the population level. Research is organized in five programs: Climate, Air Pollution, Nature and Urban Health; Environment and Health over the Lifecourse; Global Viral and Bacterial Infections; Malaria and Neglected Parasitic Diseases and Maternal Child and Reproductive Health. ISGlobal is accredited with the Severo Ochoa distinction, a seal of excellence of the Spanish Science Ministry.

**WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR**:
ISGlobal is looking for a a full-time LAB TECHNICIAN who is interested in taking over and managing activities of the project “**Improving Child Health through Azithromycin Research for Infants in Africa (ICARIA)**”
The **ICARIA** project, c**arried out in Sierra Leone, is a large-scale clinical trial which will measure the incremental mortality benefit of administering IPTi plus azithromycin to infants** with the goal of contributing to a reduction in child mortality in areas of high malaria and mortality burden in sub-Saharan Africa. ICARIA is a five-year project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and co-funded by La Caixa Foundation is coordinated by ISGlobal. The project evaluates the impact of azithromycin (AZi) plus IPTi with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTi-SP) administered through the EPI in Sierra Leone on childhood mortality. The potential development of **antibiotic resistance**, the interactions with routine EPI immunisations, the safety and the impact on the health system of AZi and IPTi-SP administration will be all assessed in this trial.
A potential adverse consequence of the use of AZi could be the increase in carriage of AZi resistant organisms, especially Streptococcus pneumoniae. To assess the effect on gut bacterial composition and resistance, rectal samples will be collected from a randomly selected subsample of study children at recruitment and four weeks after the last dose of AZi/placebo. Following their collection, nasopharyngeal and rectal samples will be placed in cryotubes containing appropriate media and stored at -20ºC/-80ºC until tested. Bacterial colonies will be cultured and identified using non-selective and selective media with antibiotics. Pneumococcal identification will be based on colony morphology and conventional characterization methods. Samples will be collected in Sierra Leone and shipped by ISGlobal to the Subgrantee’s laboratory where the bacterial isolates will be evaluated for antimicrobial susceptibilities and the minimum inhibitory concentrations of the different antibiotics will be determined using the Clinical Breakpoint Tables from EUCAST (The European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing).

The activities in which the LAB TECHNICIAN Will be involved related to the Project Will be:

- Receive nasopharyngeal / nipple samples from the PregMRS-ICARIA project in Sierra Leone
- Analyse and characterize the pathogens in the samples and its antimicrobial susceptibility.

The tasks will be developed in the Microbiology Department at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and at the

**KEY RESPONSIBILITIES**:
**SPECIFIC DUTIES**:

- The duties will consist of ensuring the correct reception of samples (nasopharyngeal / nipple samples from the ICARIA project in Sierra Leone) and the analysis and further analysis and characterization of the pathogens in the samples and its antimicrobial susceptibility.

**AUXILIAR TASKS**

This job description reflects the present requirements of the post but may evolve at any time in the future as duties and responsibilities change and/or develop providing there is appropriate consultation with the post-holder.

**SKILLS**:

- Teamwork.
- Problem resolution.
- Learning capacity.
- Previous experience in molecular microbiology.

The post holder will adhere to ISGlobal principles contained in **People management policy, including Equity, diversity and health safety**. The post holder will respect, and be accountable to ensure ISGlobal policies and procedures.

**TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE / QUALIFICATIONS**:

- Previous laboratory experience in the microbiology field. Experience in antimicrobial resistance will be highly appreciated.

**SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS**:
**LANGUAGE LEVEL**:

- Proficiency in Catalan, English, and Spanish.

**CONDITIONS**:

- Duration: 1st July 2025- 30th April 2026 (10 months)
- Starting date: 1st July 2025
- Contract Type: Full time
- Salary: Technician II B

**HOW TO APPLY**:
**SELECTION PROCESS**:
The selection process is designed in two phases:
1- Interview phase of a technical nature, with the team that requires the incorporation. To assess the person's skills and CV.
2 - Meeting with HR with the fi