Postdoc Position in Genomics Data Science/Bioinformatics

Applications are invited from two suitably qualified candidates for full-time fixed-term positions as Postdoctoral Researchers/Research Associates in Bioinformatics within the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at the University of Galway.

These positions are funded through a Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) award and are available immediately until contract end date of Oct 16th, 2025 (with possibility of extension).

The University of Galway is a publicly funded university in the top 1% in the world (QS rankings) and has earned international recognition as a research-led university with a commitment to highest-quality teaching and research.

This post is based in the Ó Broin lab https://www.universityofgalway.ie/our-research/people/mathematics-statistics-and-applied-mathematics/pilibobroin which has research interests in the development and application of statistical and machine learning approaches for the analysis of biomedical data, in particular genomics data in the areas of cancer, immunology, and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Job Description:

Cancer and autoimmune disorders impose massive, life-limiting burdens on a majority of the population at some point in their lives, and in their advanced stages, often remain highly resistant to conventional treatments.

HEALED is a €10.5M project that aims to change this by leveraging technologies from two leading Irish biotech companies (RemedyBio and aCGT Vector), along with deep clinical expertise in cancer and immune cell biology (TTMI) and cutting-edge genomics data science approaches (University of Galway) to develop an end-to-end data-driven approach to tumour infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy.

This project has the potential to quickly translate findings into clinical care, improving outcomes for cancer patients for whom current therapies have not been effective, as well as bringing a new generation of advanced therapeutic medicinal products (ATMPs) to the Irish and international markets.

At University of Galway, our work in HEALED involves the development of cloud-based computational pipelines and clinician interfaces for neoantigen prediction from whole-exome sequencing and associated clinical data and we are seeking to recruit two experienced bioinformatics developers/data scientists to lead this work.

Duties:

• Conduct a specified programme of research and scholarship under the supervision and direction of the Principal Investigator.
• Present on research progress and outcomes e.g. to bodies supervising research; conferences, steering groups; other team members, or otherwise as agreed with the PI.
• Contribute to the research project’s dissemination in the form of e.g. report, papers, book chapters.
• Where appropriate, work with the PI to register patents to protect intellectual property arising from the research.
• Mentor and assist, as appropriate and as directed, graduate students in the School, including acting as co-supervisor or member of a supervision panel.
• Engage in Education and Public Engagement (EPE) activities of the School.
• Develop and maintain Knowledge and understanding of the policy, practices and procedures, relevant to the role, which may include broader University/sector/external sponsor or funder (e.g. Commercial Awareness, Research Ethics, Knowledge Transfer, Patents, Intellectual Property Rights, Health and Safety, Equal Opportunities & Diversity, legal requirements regarding data protection and confidentiality).
• Any other duties assigned commensurate to this level of post

Qualifications/Skills required:

Essential Requirements:

• PhD in Genomics Data Science/Bioinformatics or minimum of Primary Degree (level 8) in relevant discipline with 4 years full-time relevant research experience after primary degree.
• Excellent programming skills in R & Python.
• Experience in the use of HPC clusters (SGE/Slurm) for the analysis of large genomics datasets.
• Experience in the development of scalable and reproducible scientific workflows using workflow description languages (e.g. Nextflow) and software containers (e.g. Docker/Singularity).

Desirable Requirements:

• Experience in cloud computing (AWS)
• Experience in web/interface development.
• Excellent interpersonal, project management and people management skills.
• Track record of scientific publication and dissemination of results commensurate with career stage.

Salary: Postdoctoral Researcher/Research Associate salary scale €42,782 to €54,965 per annum, (subject to the project’s funding limitations), and pro rata for shorter and/or part-time contracts.

The default position for all new public sector appointments is the 1st point of the salary scale. This may be reviewed, and consideration afforded to appointment at a higher point on the pay scale (subject to the project’s funding limitations), where evidence of prior years’ equivalent experience is accepted in determining placement on the scale above point 1, subject to the maximum of the scale.

(Research Salary Scales – University of Galway)

Start date: This position is available immediately.

Continuing Professional Development/Training:

Researchers at University of Galway are encouraged to avail of a range of training and development opportunities designed to support their personal career development plans. University of Galway provides continuing professional development supports for all researchers seeking to build their own career pathways either within or beyond academia.  Researchers are encouraged to engage with our Researcher Development Centre (RDC) upon commencing employment – see HERE for further information.

Further information on research and working at University of Galway is available on Research at University of Galway

For information on moving to Ireland please see www.euraxess.ie

Further information about School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences is available at https://www.universityofgalway.ie/science-engineering/school-of-maths/

Informal enquiries concerning the post may be made to Dr. Pilib Ó Broin pilib.obroin@universityofgalway.ie

To Apply:

Applications (to include a cover letter, CV, and the contact details of three referees) should be sent, via e-mail (in PDF format only) to Dr. Pilib Ó Broin pilib.obroin@universityofgalway.ie

Please put reference number University of Galway 108-24 in subject line of e-mail application.

Closing date for receipt of applications is 5:00pm (Irish Time) May 3rd, 2024

We reserve the right to re-advertise or extend the closing date for these posts.

The University of Galway is an equal opportunities employer.

All positions are recruited in line with Open, Transparent, Merit (OTM) and  Competency based recruitment