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SalaryJob id: 082566. Salary: £43,205 - £44,347 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance.
Posted: 16 January 2024. Closing date: 30 January 2024.
Business unit: IoPPN. Department: Biostatistics & Health Informatics.
Contact details: Dr Alfredo Iacoangeli. alfredo.iacoangeli@kcl.ac.uk
Location: Denmark Hill Campus. Category: Research.
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Job description
The postholder will have a leading role in an exciting new project funded by Motor Neurone Disease Association, MND Scotland and Rosetrees Trust. The project is a collaboration between researchers working in motor neuron disease (MND), and computer scientists working with biological information.
The postholder will develop, maintain and run bioinformatics pipelines and workflows using national and international HPC facilities (cluster and grid computing), to analyze large genetic datasets of patients affected by MND and controls. There will be a specific focus on variation in repetitive DNA such as retrotransposons. Such datasets include whole-genome sequencing, methylation arrays, SNP arrays and clinical information of over 10,000 individuals, the majority of whom are MND patients. Lifestyle and RNAseq data are also available for a subset (several hundreds of samples).
This post will be based at the Department of Biostatistics & Health Informatics at King’s College London within the Bioinformatics team led by Dr Alfredo Iacoangeli, of the Health Informatics group. The Health Informatics group has extensive experience in the development of genomic bioinformatics tools and methods ( https://github.com/KHP-Informatics/). The postholder will also be expected to build upon current collaborations between the University of Liverpool Neurobiology Group (https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/translational-medicine/staff/john-quinn/**) and London in addition to collaborating with the members of large international consortia such as the EU JPND funded STRENGTH, Brain-MEND and Project MinE consortia (www.projectmine.com).
Key Objectives
To develop a bioinformatics pipeline for the detection of structural variants, transposable elements and human endogenous retroviruses in NGS data
To investigate the role of structural variants, transposable elements and human endogenous retroviruses in the pathogenesis of ALS
About the Health Informatics group [https://phidatalab.org and Dr Iacoangeli https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/alfredo-iacoangeli](https://phidatalab.org and Dr Iacoangeli https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/alfredo-iacoangeli )
About the Faculty and Department of Biostatistics & Health Informatics
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience | King’s College London (kcl.ac.uk) Biostatistics & Health Informatics | School of Mental Health & Psychological Sciences | King’s College London (kcl.ac.uk)
This post will be offered on an a full-time, fixed-term contract until 31 March 2025.
Key responsibilities
Technical
Aid in the development of bioinformatics pipelines for the analysis of large omics datasets
Aid in omics data handling, data entry, data integration with existing datasets, quality control, and bioinformatics analysis
Attend meetings and conferences to present details of research findings and thereby enhance the national and international standing of the project.
Contribute to the supervision of other team members including PhD students and research assistants
Communication & Networking:
Work as part of a multidisciplinary team of data scientists, bioinformaticians, biostatisticians, clinicians, scientists and support staff within the bioinformatics unit and the Maudsley BRC, as well as other related organizations, and develop good working relationships.
Communicate complex information both orally and in writing, including instructions and surveys for study participants.
Decision Making, Planning and Problem Solving:
Participation in the strategic planning of the future speech studies.
The post holder will be responsible for day-to-day decisions on the project and will be expected to consult their line manager when making major decisions.
Analysis & Research:
Continue to update knowledge and develop skills through team meetings, work experience and training courses
To contribute to writing up research for publication
To be able to analyse and interpret data to inform others of the outcome of experiments
To have knowledge of software such as R, SPSS (or similar), and genetics analysis tools
To use cluster computing for research and general administration using scientific Linux
Teamwork, Teaching & Learning Support:
Attend and contribute to regular lab meetings
Work with colleagues on joint projects as required
Collaborate with academic colleagues on areas of shared research interest
Sensory/Physical Demands & Work Environment:
Balance the competing pressures of research and deadlines.
Be aware of health and safety in the work environment.
All staff members must strictly follow the College’s Health & Safety regulations.
The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.
Skills, knowledge, and experience
Essential criteria
1. PhD or equivalent experience in relevant areas (e.g. bioinformatics or computer science)
2. UpToDate knowledge of NGS (DNA and RNA-seq) pipelines
3. Ability to use and develop bioinformatics tools for large scale data analysis, integration, mining and visualisation
4. Programming in at least one language (Python, Java, Bash, Perl, R)
5. Proficient in Unix based systems
6. Publication record commensurate with grade
7. Experience in scientific writing
8. Excellent interpersonal & communication (written & verbal) skills
9. The ability to work independently and without direct supervision
Desirable criteria
1. Research experience in Neuroscience
2. Experience in grant writing
3. Experience in transposable elements, structural variants and endogenous retroviruses
Please note that for candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.
