Position title: Computational Biologist
Employer: Garvan Institute of Medical Research
Closing date: 28/02/2021
Brief position description: The Garvan Institute of Medical Research brings together world-leading basic and translational researchers with expert clinicians to break down barriers between traditional scientific disciplines and find solutions to disease. Founded in 1963, Garvan’s mission is to harness all the information encoded in our genome to better diagnose, treat, predict and prevent disease.
Our scientists work across four intersecting research themes: medical genomics, epigenetics, and cellular genomics; diseases of immunity and inflammation; cancer; and diseases of ageing affecting bone, brain and metabolism. And three major Centres: the Kinghorn Centre for Clinical Genomics, the Garvan-Weizmann Centre for Cellular Genomics, and the Centre for Population Genomics.
The Kinghorn Centre for Clinical Genomics (KCCG) advances the use of genomic information in patient care. KCCG acts as a mechanism to translate genomic research information into patient care. To do this KCCG employs experts in genomics including researchers, bioinformaticians, clinicians, educators and software engineers. We use and develop multi-omics based technology to enhance diagnosis and treatment for patients.
The Opportunity
KCCG's Computational Biology Group is a newly established group focusing on genomics and biomedical data analysis, combining computational skills with biological domain expertise. The group applies and develops computational methods to better understand human disease. We take a collaborative approach, working closely with experimental researchers to tackle problems that address critical unmet medical needs.
We have multiple positions for computational scientists at different levels who are looking for an opportunity to establish themselves in a new team. Successful candidates will work on genomics studies with experimental researchers across research themes at Garvan and KCCG. Example projects from Cancer Genomics include liquid biopsy analyses to monitor cancer patients, single-cell analyses of clinical trial samples, genomics study of patients with an unusual response to therapy to understand underlying molecular mechanisms. Successful candidates will contribute to the different phases of genomics studies, including design and planning, data analysis, interpretation and manuscript writing.
Key Responsibilities
This position will be responsible for helping to provide direction and support in genomics studies. This will include:
Analysis of high-throughput datasets, including quality control, unsupervised and supervised analyses, with an emphasis on biological interpretation
Preparing figures for publication, contributing to manuscript writing
Experimental design and planning
Creating and maintaining modular, reusable and reproducible workflows through use of container and workflow management technologies
Developing best practices for computational workflows through evaluation/benchmarking of existing methods and/or original method development
Import and analysis of external datasets as resource or for validation purposes
Staying abreast on advances in genomics, computational methods, as well as building and maintaining biological domain expertise
Contribute to internal education programs through mentoring, technical supervision, code reviews
Occasionally represent KCCG at events, or talks with external stakeholders
About You
The following key skills and attributes are essential to undertaking the role:
PhD degree in a related area of science or engineering
Good knowledge of biology
Good statistical knowledge and programming skills
Previous experience working with next-generation sequencing data, e.g. RNA-seq, targeted or whole genome sequencing, ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq, single-cell sequencing
Publication record commensurate with experience
Comfortable working with Unix and in an HPC environment
Proficient in at least one scripting language (R, Python, Perl)
Familiar with version control systems
Highly developed written and verbal communications skills
Project management skills
Able to work independently
Desired
Postdoctoral research experience
Interest in biomedical data science, including statistical, machine learning, and visualisation methods
Interest in personalised medicine and clinical genomics
Experience with R/Bioconductor
Experience working with single-cell sequencing data
Experience with software containers, workflow management systems, databases, cloud computing
How to Apply
Australian/NZ citizen, permanent resident or other applicants with full working rights can only apply. To apply for this position, please submit your application including CV and cover letter addressing the above criteria. As we will be reviewing applications as they are received, we encourage you to submit yours as soon as possible.
Job website: http://garvan.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/garvan_institute/job/Sydney/Computational-Biologist_PRF5804-1
Contact name: Michelle Earle
Contact email: m.earle@garvan.org.au