PhD Candidate (Graduate Student) in Wastewater and Environmental Monitoring
Delatolla Research Group - https://www.delatolla-research-group.ca/
Ottawa Carleton Institute for Environmental Engineering (OCIENE) - https://ociene.ca/
University of Ottawa - https://www.uottawa.ca/en
We are recruiting a PhD student to join a multidisciplinary research program focused on wastewater and environmental monitoring (WEM) to support community-led, public health monitoring in partnership with the northern Indigenous communities of Canada. The project integrates culturally safe Indigenous research, field-based environmental sampling, laboratory molecular methods, statistical analysis, and co-developed research approaches with Indigenous communities to generate actionable evidence for remote and underserved peoples. The candidate will contribute to Indigenous community engagement, study design, sample collection, laboratory analysis, and data analysis of WEM measurements, working closely with Indigenous partners and an interdisciplinary team spanning Indigenous research, engineering, science, data science. and public health.
Project Activities and Areas of Research
• Field work and logistics, sampling wastewater in remote settings,
• QA/QC, and data management to support reliable WEM field work in remote settings,
• Development and optimization of sampling workflows for wastewater and environmental matrices,
• Molecular detection and quantification of targets using qPCR/RT-qPCR, including assay development, validation, and troubleshooting,
• Sequencing-based approaches (e.g., amplicon and/or metagenomic methods) to support characterization, tracking, or confirmation of targets,
• Collaboration on community-guided study design, knowledge sharing, and research processes aligned with Indigenous research principles.
Beneficial Experience and Qualifications

1. Experience with Indigenous research contexts and/or community-based research, with demonstrated commitment to ethical, respectful, and culturally safe research practices,
2. Field work and logistics, sampling wastewater, potable water, natural waters, and sediment in remote settings,
3. Knowledge and experience in molecular methods, laboratory chemical and biological analyses of environmental samples such as wastewater, potable water, natural waters, and sediment,
4. Experience in PCR testing is preferred, qPCR/RT-qPCR, dPCR, ddPCR, including method development and troubleshooting,
5. Experience with sequencing workflows, library preparation and/or coordination with sequencing cores, basic bioinformatics familiarity is an asset.

Additional Beneficial Qualifications
• Strong writing skills, experience in preparing and polishing scientific manuscripts,
• Organization and documentation skills, experience in developing and updating SOPs, QA/QC procedures, and chain of custody documents,
• Collaborative communication skills and ability to work effectively across disciplines and within large team environments.
Further Information on the Position
• Preferred start dates of May 2026 or September 2026,
• The student will be based at the University of Ottawa – Delatolla Research Group, Department of Civil Engineering,
• There will be opportunities for travel related to remote northern locations for Indigenous community engagement and field sampling.
How to Apply
Please email a brief statement of interest, CV, and contact information with 2 references to Robert Delatolla, robert.delatolla@uottawa.ca and Elizabeth Renouf mrenouf@uottawa.ca. Please use the subject line of PhD Candidate in WEM, kindly paste your statement of interest directly in the email and please include in your statement a brief description of any relevant experience in culturally safe Indigenous research, field work, wastewater sampling and analyses, molecular methods, and PCR.