A 20% bioinformatics research coordinator position at the Paediatric Oncology Research Laboratory, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen

A 5-years 20% part-time position to coordinate the genomics research at the Paediatric Oncology Research Laboratory (Bonkolab), Rigshospitalet Copenhagen University Hospital, is available starting September 1st, 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter. We are looking for

• an MD, MSci, or with another similar academic degree and with a documented education or qualification in bioinformatics and cancer genomics; and
• with documented research in pediatric oncology; and
• already holding a full-time position as professor or associate professor at a Danish university and able to dedicate on average one day a week at Rigshospitalet to expand and coordinate our pediatric oncology genomics research program.

Background
We are in the midst of an explosive development in genomic and “big data” analyses, more recently with the establishment of the Danish National Genome Center. Since 2017 all newly diagnosed children with cancer in Denmark has been offered whole genome sequencing (WGS) of germline DNA and more recently most are also offered WGS and/or RNAseq of their cancer cells. These and other lines of research generate enormous amounts of data (100-200 Gbyte per patient WGS) in addition to extensive data regarding patient demographics and previous environmental exposures, disease manifestation, drug metabolism, treatment efficacy, and side effects.
We are systematically collecting host DNA from large international cohorts of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or brain tumors to link common germline DNA variants (e.g. GWAS analysis) to disease phenotypes, drug dispositions, treatment efficacy, and toxicity.
The enormous amount of sensitive data requires secure data storage, facilitated yet controlled data access, enormous computing power for the analyses, and deep insight into the possibilities of bioinformatics analyses.

Immediate research needs and opportunities can include:

• Mapping the genomic landscape in both the host and the cancer. In collaboration with our international partners, this will contribute to a deeper understanding of the earliest mutations that lead to cancer development, the interaction between the host genome and somatic mutations, as well as the identification of patients (and family members) who should be offered cancer screening and treatment adaptation. This also includes development of efficient and robust pipelines to process extensive genomic data for identification of DNA sequence and structural changes, and to functionally classify potential pathogenic DNA variants.
• Mapping the methylation profiles (and other epigenetic profiles) of cancer. In recent years, methylation profiling has revolutionized the classification of a number of tumors, including brain tumors and sarcomas, as methylation profiles are stable and therefore more informative about the origin of the cancer than, for example, cyto-/histological classification.
• Mapping the gene expression of the cancer, which can provide functional insight into cancer development, including division into subtypes, and uncovering the interaction between the host and tumor genetic and epigenetic landscapes and gene expression profiles.
• Analysis of other -omics, e.g. proteome or lipid profiles in tumor, blood and spinal fluid, which can provide insight into the biological disturbances in the tumor, which can subsequently be functionally validated by, for example, modification of cell lines using CRISPR technology. The many -omics data layers can ultimately be integrated in systems biology to understand the pathological dynamics of the tumor (“Hallmarks of cancer”).
• Longitudinal pharmacokinetic or biochemical data during treatment as biomarkers for exposure to chemotherapy, development of side effects and treatment effects and linkage of these data with host genome variants.

In addition the candidate will together with Bonkolab’s Board:

• attract and develop the necessary bioinformatics competencies in master’s students, PhD students and postdocs, so that a strong, bioinformatics, pediatric oncology research group is being developed.
• build database solutions that enable genomic analyses across hundreds or thousands of patients, which involves handling and analyzing billions of rows of data.
• build solutions for a data lake that allows Nordic and European consortia to share data, which is crucial to ensure a sufficient number of patients to address the many, but individually rare, childhood cancers and their phenotypes, including disease manifestation, drug metabolism, treatment efficacy and toxicity.

Research in an established research environment
You will collaborate with researchers at other departments at Rigshospitalet, The University of Copenhagen, and the Danish Technical University, as well as our other external national and international collaborators.
Your everyday work will be at Rigshospitalet, including at Bonkolab, the largest pediatric cancer research unit in the Nordic region with more than 130 employees. You will be part of a community with a large group of PhD students, Postdocs, associate and full professors doing research within paediatric oncology. At Bonkolab, we are passionate about our projects and prioritize a safe and inspiring research environment.
Our expectations
It is not expected that the applicant will be able to cover all of the listed research areas at the time of employment, but that the applicant, together with his or her network and Bonkolab researchers, can build a staff that possesses the necessary competencies. We expect you to be able to work independently, but you will always receive the necessary support from Bonkolab’s Board.
We are looking for someone who will immerse themselves into basic genomics as well as translational research. You are conscientious and transparent in your work, as well as engaged, proactive, structured, and have good collaborative skills.
Evaluation of applicants
The selection of the right candidate will be a two-phase process. After an initial screening of applicants, you will be invited for an interview mid-August. A maximum of three applicants will then proceed to personality and aptitude tests after which all will be invited to a second interview.
Employment terms
Salary and employment terms follow the agreement for Region H.
Positions at the Juliane Marie Centre are subject to a child protection certificate. Therefore, it is a requirement for employment that you have a clean child protection certificate. The centre will obtain the certificate from the National Police with the applicant’s consent.
Rigshospitalet is a smoke-free workplace.
Rigshospitalet is part of the Capital Region of Denmark.
Application procedure
A written application explaining your interest in the project, along with your CV, should be submitted through the link no later than August 10th, 2025. Interviews will take place and finalized in August.
For further information, contact Professor Kjeld Schmiegelow at +45 35451357 (kjeld.schmiegelow@re-gionh.dk).
For further information on the lab, see the website https://www.rigshospitalet.dk/english/departments/juliane-marie-centre/department-of-paediatrics-and-adolescent-medicine/paediatric-oncology-research-laboratory/

Please refer the Job description for details