2024/10/02
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Scientific Officer (Medical) Information

Scientific Officer (Medical) Information

Information Document*

Scientific Officer (Medical)

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD),

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government

 

  • Are you looking to take your career to the next level?

  • Are you seeking a new direction and role in driving improvements to public and animal health?

  • Are you ready to join and work hand in hand with dedicated professional and technical staffs to provide high quality veterinary laboratory diagnostic service to safeguard public and animal health in Hong Kong?

  • Do you have the passion for developing new tests, conducting research, and expanding laboratory capacity in the only governmental veterinary laboratory in HKSAR?

If the above sounds like you, then read on.

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Who we are

  • AFCD’s mission is to serve the community by providing services to secure orderly and efficient production and marketing of agricultural and fishery produce, enforce regulations on plants, pesticides and animal controls, and conserve our natural environment and safeguard the ecological integrity.

  • The officer(s) we are looking for will work in relation to animal health, veterinary public health and food safety in Hong Kong’s official veterinary diagnostic laboratory.

  • The scope of testing of the veterinary diagnostic laboratory includes anatomical pathology, immunology, molecular diagnostics, microbiology, and chemical residues testing. We provide a wide range of animal diagnostic and surveillance tests with an infectious disease focus.

Why join us

  • You will be supporting important government initiatives and decisions as it relates to animal disease diagnostics and animal welfare, engage in surveillance of diseases, antimicrobial resistance patterns with animal health, public health concerns and help safeguard food safety. Examples of emerging diseases affecting HKSAR and/or a global scale that are relevant to our work includes Avian Influenza (AI), African Swine fever (ASF), and Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD).

  • AFCD’s veterinary laboratory, along with local expert collaborators, identified and published the world’s first SARS-CoV-2 infection in a dog in 2020; and reported the first evidence of pet hamster to human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in early 2022.

  • You will have a valuable opportunity to build up experiences in animal diseases, get familiar with animal/zoonotic pathogens, tackle the global AMR problem, promote your leadership and research skills, and build networks with other local and regional academics and scientists.

  • You will be working in a support orientated, growth focused, team driven culture. Our laboratory received the Testing and Certification Manpower Corporate Development Award issued by the Hong Kong Council for Testing and Certification (HKCTC) for 2021-22 and more recently the Platnium award in 2023-24.

What you will do

You will be joining a team of enthusiastic and supportive veterinary officers, fellow scientific officers, and laboratory technologists to venture into the following areas:

  • Lead and design research and development projects and project management

  • Review existing test methods based on current international standards

  • Develop, optimize, and validate animal disease diagnostic tests/ panels

  • Next- generation/ third generation sequencing and NGS data analyses

  • Phylogenetic and coalescent studies of emerging animal diseases circulating in HK

  • Literature review on animal/ zoonotic diseases

  • Participate in ISO17025 accreditation activities

  • Laboratory management and staff training

  • Collaborate with and provide support to Veterinary Officers on diagnostic method development

  • Cross-disciplinary liaison with experts and other governmental departments

  • Provide administrative support as needed

What we are looking for

Qualifications and Job experience
Please refer to the official advertisement for minimum requirements. Experience listed below would be beneficial:

  • Research and development project design and management

  • Diagnostic test development and validation

  • qRT-PCR and digital PCR test development and optimization

  • Next-generation/ third generation sequencing platform application and library preparation

  • Sequencing data analysis (Sanger, NGS, and 3rd generation)

  • Epidemiology, phylogenetic, and coalescent analyses

  • Biostatistical analysis

  • Experience in ISO17025/15189 accredited laboratory

  • Experience in Biosafety Level-3 laboratory

  • Knowledge in biorisk management

  • Expertise in animal or zoonotic pathogens

  • Experience in a veterinary diagnostic laboratory

Personal characteristics


We are looking for talented individuals who can work independently but with a strong sense of team work. Someone who is committed to the team’s goals and mission, eager to help and learn along the way, an optimistic individual with great interpersonal and communication skills.

*This document is for reference only. Please refer to the link (https://www.csb.gov.hk/english/recruit/7.html) for official recruitment details and application.