Research Associate (Bioinformatics) - Department of Cancer and Genomic Scie at University of Birmingham

Birmingham, England, United Kingdom -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

28 Jun, 26

Salary

35608.0

Posted On

30 Mar, 26

Experience

0 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Next Generation Sequencing, Multiomics Data Integration, Long Read Nanopore Sequencing, Spatial Transcriptomics, CTDNA Assays, Immunohistochemistry, WGS, RNAseq, Single Cell Sequencing, CRISPR Dependency Screens, Linux, HPC, Nextflow, Python

Industry

Higher Education

Description

Position Details Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK Full time starting salary is normally in the range £33,002 to £35,608 with potential progression once in post to £39,906 Grade: 6 Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to November 2027 Closing date: 19th April 2026 2 Positions available Background This is an exciting and unique opportunity for an ambitious graduate data scientist with the ability and confidence to perform the analysis and integration of multiomics data. The post holder will be a bioinformatician or computational biologist with a background in Next Generation Sequencing analysis and pipeline creation. They will be responsible for analysis and interpretation of multi-omics experiments in complex domains ranging from human disease, model systems and prokaryotes. Role Summary The Surgical Research Laboratory is looking to appoint a highly skilled individual to play a key role in analysis of next generation sequencing data from the Cancer Research UK funded translational medicine programme, DETERMINE. The DETERMINE programme aims to understand the rationale behind response to targeted agents outside their licensed indication using long read Nanopore sequencing, as well as spatial transcriptomics, circulating tumour DNA assays and multiple immunohistochemistry. The successful candidate will also support analysis of a wide range of data types analysed by the laboratory including long and short read WGS, targeted sequencing and RNAseq, single cell sequencing, optical genome mapping and CRISPR dependency screens. Ideally you will have previous experience as a cancer bioinformatician, however we are willing to support the right candidate with a computer science or bioinformatics background to gain these skills as part of the research group. The candidate will be exposed to a wide range of ‘omics data types and will gain experience in their analysis. This is a singular opportunity for a motivated candidate to gain experience in the analysis of long read sequencing in one of the highest volume laboratories for Nanopore sequencing in the world, across a wide range of datasets. As such, we are looking for a highly motivated, self-sufficient and enthusiastic bioinformatician who enjoys working in a “team science” environment on a range of different projects. These attributes are most important to us, as post specific skills can be taught to the right individuals if we feel they are the best candidate. We are particularly looking for applications from women, and under-represented ethnic groups within science. A practical test will be carried out as part of the interview on a test NGS dataset in a restricted compute environment to assess knowledge. Main Duties * Create pipelines to process, analyse, and integrate multiple (epi)genomics/transcriptomics sequencing and other related experiments * Present results of cohort analyses in order to help derive insights into datasets. * Apply machine learning methods to integrate multi-omics data with real-world clinical outcomes data. * Provide assistance to the research group in dataset management, upload to public repositories and general data management duties * Liaise with collaborators of the research group on all bioinformatics related matters * Contribute to Centre/Institute research-related activities and research-related administration * Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader * Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews * Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters * Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research * Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines * Carry out administrative tasks related directly to the delivery of the research * Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture Person Specification * Degree in bioinformatics, computer science, physics or mathematics, and preferably, a higher degree relevant to research area or equivalent experience. * High degree of computer literacy * Comprehensive experience in Linux / HPC computing environments, including Slurm job scheduling systems and Nextflow, Cloud environments (ideally AWS including deployment) and be proficient in understanding the practicalities of TCP networking and data transfer frameworks * Understanding of next generation sequencing datasets, including their structure and theoretical basis. * Practical, demonstrable experience in: R, Bioconductor, Python, Java, DNA/RNA alignment software (e.g. BWA, Minimap), variant calling methodologies (e.g. GATK Toolkit, hmftools, long read tools) and cohort analysis. * Experience of development of machine learning models using either Python/R within appropriate frameworks would be desirable but is not essential. * Ability to proficiently code in C/C++ would be an advantage but is not essential. * Ability to communicate complex information clearly and the ability to communicate with non-experts in bioinformatics to reach project goals. * Ability to access and organise resources successfully * Experience of managing scientific projects. * Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly Further particulars can be found here [http://www.download.bham.ac.uk/vacancies/jd/MDSFPs.pdf] Informal enquiries to Andrew Beggs (a.beggs@bham.ac.uk [a.beggs@bham.ac.uk]) Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview. We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/university/about/equality/index.aspx].

Responsibilities

The role involves creating pipelines to process, analyze, and integrate multiple sequencing and related experiments, and applying machine learning methods to integrate multi-omics data with clinical outcomes. The post holder will also present cohort analysis results to derive insights and assist with dataset management and public repository uploads.