Bioinformatician - Single Cell Genomics in Neurodegenerative & Mitochondrial Disease (Fixed Term)

The University of Cambridge wishes to appoint a talented postdoctoral research associate in bioinformatics/computational biology and Single Cell Genomics to join a team of clinical, laboratory and computational scientists in the research groups of Prof Patrick Chinnery, Prof Rita Horvath and Dr Jelle van den Ameele at the Department of Clinical Neurosciences and the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit. The post holder will lead an exciting project aiming to shed light on the fundamental biology of neurodegenerative diseases and mitochondrial dysfunction. Many neurodegenerative and mitochondrial disorders are accompanied by progressive accumulation of mutations in the mitochondrial genome, during development and aging. You will shed light on how heteroplasmic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations change over time in somatic tissues, mainly taking advantage of large-scale single-cell sequencing datasets from novel mouse models with mtDNA mutations generated as part of the MRC National Mouse Genetics Network, MitoCluster.  You will be able to integrate these single-cell sequencing datasets with short- and long-read datasets from clinical samples, results from functional genomic screens using CRISPR/Perturb-Seq, and innovative chromatin/epigenome profiling approaches. This provides a unique opportunity to gain access to patient cohorts and clinical data alongside leading genomic technologies in the Cambridge cluster, and to work closely with other bioinformaticians, laboratory and clinical scientists in the University, Wellcome Sanger Institute, and the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute. The team publishes high-profile publications including: Cell 2023 PMID36827974; Nature Commun 2023 PMID36823193; Nature 2022 PMID36198798; Nature Commun 2022 PMID35468895; Brain 2022 PMID 34791078; Nature Genetics 2021 PMID34002094; Nature Medicine 2021 PMID34426706; EMBO J 2020 PMID33128823; eLife 2019 PMID31513013; Science 2019 PMID31123110. Candidates are expected to be independent, highly motivated, and keen to work collaboratively with wet-lab and computational biologists within and outside the research groups. In addition to their own research, there will be opportunities for training and career development, and supervision of junior researchers. The role will be located within the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit housed in the Wellcome Trust/MRC Building on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, with state-of-the-art facilities available to group members, including computational resources (i.e. access to HPC facilities, a Linux cluster and storage).  The lab and the wider University of Cambridge are committed, in their pursuit of academic and research excellence, to a pro-active and inclusive approach to equality, which supports and encourages all under-represented groups, promotes an inclusive culture, and values diversity. Flexible working and working from home arrangements will be considered. The University particularly encourages women and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds to apply. Lab websites: MRC MBU Research groups: https://www.mrc-mbu.cam.ac.uk/research-groups Cambridge Clinical Mitochondrial Research team: https://www-neurosciences.medschl.cam.ac.uk/mitocamb/ MRC MitoCluster: https://nmgn.mrc.ukri.org/clusters/mitochondria/ Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 24 months in the first instance, with the possibility of extending beyond this. To apply and view further information about the role, click 'Apply' above. Please ensure that you upload a covering letter and CV in the Upload section of the online application. The covering letter should outline how you match the criteria for the post and why you are applying for this role. If you upload any additional documents which have not been requested, we will not be able to consider these as part of your application. Please include details of your referees, including email address and phone number, one of which must be your most recent line manager. The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.