Leah McCormick

Experience

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  Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

  Jan 2013 - Apr 2013

  Agronomy Research Assistant

  Assist laboratory technician/graduate student to collect, process and analyze samples obtained during in vitro and in vivo animal studies. Barn work involved collecting feed and digestive samples at specified times during nutritional studies on cattle. Lab work included chemical analyses of feed and digestive samples, and sorting and analyzing data.

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  Canadian Food Inspection Agency

  May 2013 - Aug 2013

  Virology Technician

  Surveyed orchard samples from plants in Ontario for presence of plum pox virus, in an attempt to eliminate the virus from Canadian plants. Sub-sampled and liquefied plant samples which were received from Ontario/BC, loaded processed samples onto ELISA plates, developed ELISA plates with primary and secondary conjugated antibodies, and received and analyzed results from the assays.

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  Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

  Sept 2013 - Dec 2013

  Food Safety and Environmental Health Research Assistant

  Assisted laboratory technician in collection, isolation, purification, and identification of Salmonella and E.coli bacteria from poultry and manure samples, respectively. Salmonella processes involved pre-enrichment, enrichment, streak/spread plating, purification, media/ buffer preparation, API, latex agglutination, TSI/LI slants, DNA extraction, PCR to determine if Salmonella is present anywhere along the processing line. E.coli process involved enrichment for O157 and screening for virulence and resistance genes by PCR, antimicrobial resistance of generic E.coli using multiple antibiotics, and enumeration for antimicrobial resistance quantification. Show less

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  University of Victoria

  Jan 2014 - Aug 2014

  Assisted laboratory technician in collection, isolation, purification, and identification of E.coli bacteria from local community water sources. This involved filtration of samples, enrichment for E.coli, coliforms, and enterococcus, and screening for virulence and resistance genes by PCR. Developed a reagent to permit ectopic expression of a signaling ligand in ectoderm cells. A cis-regulatory sequence to drive expression of the ligand in ectoderms. The project included designing fusion PCR primers that enabled amplification of the cis-regulatory DNA fused to the ligand with a fluorescent protein as an expression tag.

  • Research Assistant

    May 2014 - Aug 2014

  • Directed Studies

    Jan 2014 - Apr 2014
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  ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.

  Jan 2015 - Jan 2017

  Laboratory Technician

  Perform various standard in vitro ELISA assays to asses immune response in experimentally vaccinated animals. Compile results of ELISA assays for the various clients and manage all scheduling and procedures for ELISAs. As well as cell culturing, subcloning, and maintaining living cells in tissue culture plates and bioreactors.

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  BC Cancer

  Jan 2017 - Nov 2023

  Oversee daily QC tasks and duties including the following: carrying out established QC release assays, maintaining formal documentation of laboratory processes, maintaining validation and QC programs for instrumentation and procedures, scheduling and prioritizing repair and preventative maintenance of laboratory equipment, environmental monitoring, and material management.Performing trending and analyzing of QC and environmental data, generating analysis reports, communicating QC policies, risk assessments/process improvement, draft and review QC SOPs, and develop analytical qualifications for all QC assays for all current and future clinical trials while considering regulatory guidelines. Also responsible for conducting QC training for new staff and maintaining training records; out-of-specification and non-conformance investigations associated with QC assay failures, identifying root causes, summarizing findings and following up with CAPA. Show less

  • QC Supervisor

    Jan 2019 - Nov 2023

  • Research Assistant II

    Jan 2017 - Jan 2019
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  IPA (ImmunoPrecise Antibodies)

  Nov 2023 - now

  Quality Control Manager