Bioinformatics Analyst: The Genomics of Non-coding Nucleic Acid Structures in Cancer at University of Cambridge
Bioinformatics Analyst: The Genomics of Non-coding Nucleic Acid Structures in Cancer
University of Cambridge – Department of Chemistry
Salary: £27,428 – £35,788 pa
The funds for this post are available for two years in the first instance.
We are seeking a highly motivated bioinformatics analyst to play a key role in supporting the pioneering research programme of Professor Balasubramanian’s group at Cancer Research UK’s Cambridge Research Institute (CRI). The Institute emphasises multi-disciplinary approaches to link laboratory findings to the clinic and has state-of-the-art research facilities for over 300 scientists supported by outstanding core resources such as bioinformatics and genomics.
Professor Balasubramanian’s research is focused on the chemical biology of the genome, and the post-holder will be involved in data analysis for several projects in this domain. One area of key interest to us is the fundamental roles that non-canonical nucleic acid structures, such as G-quadruplexes, play within the genome and transcriptome. In this regard, we are developing genome-wide approaches to determine the presence and function of G-quadruplexes by employing expression-profiling methods such as ChIP-seq, RNA-seq and microarrays. While the position will be based at the CRI working closely with the Bioinformatics Core, the post-holder will also provide bioinformatics support to Professor Balasubramanian’s wider group in the University’s Department of Chemistry.
Characteristics of the role will include:
(a) Collaboration with Professor Balasubramanian’s research scientists and the Bioinformatics Core, consulting on experimental designs, data QC, statistical analysis, and the integration and visualisation of data over multiple platforms.
(b) Developing data analysis strategies in line with the group’s research aims and contribute to the implementation and design and analysis pipelines using the most appropriate bioinformatics software packages and tools.
Applicants should have a degree in a scientific or computational discipline, preferably at masters or doctoral level, and/or significant experience in bioinformatics or computational biology. Good programming/scripting skills (e.g. R, Perl, Python), and practical experience in a range of bioinformatics software tools and database resources is essential. A good working knowledge of Unix, with experience in data processing in a HPC cluster environment and relational databases (e.g. MySQL) is highly desirable. We are especially interested in candidates who are experienced in the use of statistical methods and software packages for analysing microarrays and high-throughput sequencing data, such as that produced from ChIP-seq and RNA-seq experiments, using R and associated Bioconductor packages.
The role requires excellent communication skills and involves regular interactions with our research scientists and other bioinformaticians. The successful candidate will need to be highly organised with good time management skills to support multiple concurrent projects, with an ability to work well within a team.
The post is available immediately. Applications should include a CV, publications list, contact details for three professional referees, and a completed form CHRIS/6 Parts I and III (downloadable from http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/hr/forms/chris6/), and should be sent to Professor Shankar Balasubramanian, Department of Chemistry, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW (email: herchel-smith-medchem-pa@ch.cam.ac.uk). Informal enquiries can be made to either Professor Balasubramanian or Dr David Tannahill at CRI (david.tannahill@cancer.org.uk).