CO-OP STUDENT, BIOINFORMATICS ANALYST/PROGRAMMER

BC Cancer Research Centre
Vancouver, BC
BC Cancer has an opportunity for a co-op student to join our interdisciplinary academic research team under Dr. Samuel Aparicio. Research in our group has yielded important and insightful advances in understanding of tumour evolution, specifically how cancers initiate, develop and acquire resistance to treatment. Development of software platforms to address these questions are used both internally and more widely by world-leading scientists studying cancer. More info on the research and the team we conduct can be found here: https://aparicio.molonc.ca
We are looking for a trainee to join the computational team that supports the research, operations, and development of analysis software for multi-omic cancer data. More specifically, the successful candidate will be working closely with researchers, students, technologists, programmers and data-analysts on projects that can include.

SKILLS & ABILITIES:

• The ideal candidate will be working towards an undergraduate or graduate degree in Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics or another relevant discipline
• Familiarity with computer programming. Ideally a common language used for data-science such as Python and R. Experience with other languages will be considered a ‘nice-to-have’, but by no means mandatory.
• Competence in some form of statistical programming and data manipulation.
• Understands some of the major software development principles including the importance of documentation, version control, and Design-Up-Front.
• Experience with cloud computing Azure and on-premise HPC UNIX clusters.
• Experience in or enthusiasm for research and biology.
• An enthusiasm for drawing insights from large biological datasets.

WHAT WE DO

BC Cancer provides comprehensive cancer control for the people of British Columbia. BC Cancer is part of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA).
PHSA plans, manages and evaluates specialized health services with the BC health authorities to provide equitable and cost-effective health care for people throughout the province. Our values reflect our commitment to excellence and include: Respect people – Be compassionate – Dare to innovate – Create equity – Be courageous.
Learn more about PHSA and our programs: jobs.phsa.ca/programs-and-services
PHSA and BC Cancer are committed to anti-racism and equity in our hiring and employment practices. With learning and compassion, we are addressing existing inequities and barriers throughout our systems. PHSA is seeking to create a diverse workforce and to establish an inclusive and culturally safe environment. We invite applications and enquiries from all people, particularly those belonging to the historically, systemically, and/or persistently excluded groups identified under the B.C. Human Rights Code.
One of PHSA’s North Star priorities is to eradicate Indigenous-specific racism, which includes ongoing commitments to Indigenous recruitment and employee experience as well as dismantling barriers to health care employment at every level. We welcome Indigenous individuals to apply and/or contact the Sanya’k̓ula Team (Indigenous Recruitment & Employee Experience) for support at indigenous.employment@phsa.ca.
Indigenous-specific anti-racism initiatives are rooted in addressing the unique forms of discrimination, historical and ongoing injustices, and exclusion faced by Indigenous peoples. These initiatives align with an Indigenous rights-based approach, recognizing the inherent rights and title of BC First Nations and self-determination of all First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. PHSA is mandated to uphold legislative obligations and provincial commitments found in the foundational documents including the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (2015), In Plain Sight (2020), BC’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Reclaiming Power and Place Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Calls for Justice (2019), the Declaration Act Action Plan and Remembering Keegan: A First Nations Case Study.
Reconciliation is an ongoing process and a shared responsibility for all of us. The BC Governments’ unanimous passage of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act was a significant step forward in this journey—one that all health authorities are expected to support as we work in cooperation with Indigenous Peoples to establish a clear and sustainable path to lasting reconciliation. True reconciliation will take time and ongoing commitment to work with Indigenous Peoples as they move toward self-determination. Guiding these efforts Crown agencies must remain focused on creating opportunities that implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Mandate.

• Development and execution of reproducible workflows using modern tools such as Snakemake/WDL/Others
• Working with laboratory personnel to generate and collate data
• Analysis pipeline design, development, and testing
• Frequent collaboration and consultation with biologists, pathologists and other stakeholders to determine scope, relevance, and interpretability of work
• Depending on time / experience: more advanced projects can be included, such as exploratory data analysis and basic research projects.