Bioinformatician with expertise in Biology of Infections
Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology
Umeå University is one of Sweden’s largest higher education institutions with over 37,000 students and about 4,700 employees. The University offers a diversity of high-quality education and world-leading research in several fields. Notably, the groundbreaking discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was made here. At Umeå University, everything is close. Our cohesive campuses make it easy to meet, work together and exchange knowledge, which promotes a dynamic and open culture.
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Senior research engineer: Bioinformatician with expertise in Biology of Infections
Department of Plant Physiology
Closing date: 2023-08-23
As a national hub for molecular biosciences in Sweden, SciLifeLab develops and maintains unique research infrastructure, services and data resources for life science. The overall aim of SciLifeLab is to facilitate cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary life science research and promote its translation to the benefit of society. About 200 research groups, 1500 researchers and 40 national infrastructure units are associated with SciLifeLab, with two main centers located in Stockholm and Uppsala, but with national SciLifeLab units at all major Swedish universities.
The SciLifeLab and Wallenberg National Program for Data-Driven Life Science (DDLS) is a 12-year initiative that focuses on data-driven research, within fields essential for improving people’s lives, detecting and treating diseases, protecting biodiversity and creating sustainability. The program will train and recruit the next generation of data-driven life scientists and create strong and globally competitive computational and data science capabilities in Swedish life science. The program aims to strengthen national collaborations between universities, bridge the research communities of life and data sciences, and create partnerships with industry, healthcare and other national and international actors.
The DDLS program is establishing a national Data Science Node in “Epidemiology and Biology of Infections” at Umeå university with a national responsibility to develop data services and advanced data analytics support. We are now looking for outstanding candidates to provide advanced bioinformatics support to selected data-driven Swedish research projects of scientific excellence.
The Data Science Node staff will be well integrated with the local research community, but also connected to the SciLifeLab Data Centre and the SciLifeLab Bioinformatics Platform (National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden, NBIS), a unique national infrastructure with over 120 experts, providing advanced bioinformatics support, infrastructure and training to the Swedish life science research community and participating in international collaborations.
Your future workplace
The Department of Plant Physiology hosts the largest bioinformatic section of Umeå university with over 20 bioinformaticians and the Swedish Metabolomic Facility. You will work in a strong group of bioinformaticians that both help other scientists with analyses and are developing the field themselves. The bioinformatic group works with projects from all fields of life science.
The department of Plant physiology is part of the Umeå Plant Science Centre with a total over 200 scientists in more than 35 research groups and with a strong, multi-disciplinary, collaborative and expanding research. We are also a strong partner in The Chemical-Biological Centre (KBC), a life science hub that hosts several national instrument and technology platforms. For more information about working at Umeå University: www.umu.se/en/work-with-us/
Main responsibilities
Your work will include data analysis and scientific deduction at an internationally competitive level, as well as being a driver of bioinformatics postgraduate training. The main responsibilities are to:
- Carry out advanced data analyses within nationally prioritized data-driven projects.
- Potentially develop tools and workflows for such analyses.
- Educate other scientists in bioinformatics through collaboration within supported projects, advanced national courses, and consultations.
- Engage in the continuous development and improvement of the DDLS program, the Data Science Node, and the SciLifeLab Bioinformatics platform at a national level.
Qualification requirements
We are looking for a highly motivated bioinformatician with a strong background and interest in Epidemiology and Biology of Infections. The successful candidate has
(i) a PhD within bioinformatics or data science, or equivalent
(ii) extensive (5+ years) of experience from performing advanced scientific analyses on large-scale data sets, and ability to perform large-scale molecular data analysis and scientific deduction at an internationally competitive level. Technical competences of particular interest are single-cell and spatial omics data analysis, multi-omics integration, and genomics and metagenomics of microorganisms.
(iii) proficiency in terminal-based work in a Linux environment and advanced scripting in a relevant scripting language (e.g Python, Perl or R)
(iv) very good oral and written communication skills in English, and
(v) strong skills in cooperation and communication.
Additional qualifications
Postdoctoral studies are meriting but not a requirement. Experience of advanced bioinformatics studies of the immune system, host-pathogen interactions, or large-scale microbial studies is a strong merit. Advanced data integration methods, and experience of using advanced statistical and/or machine learning methods are also meriting, as well as strong skills in experimental design. “Reproducible research” and “FAIR data” are central concepts to us, and documented skills in development of reproducible code by using code sharing platforms, workflow languages and container solutions is a merit.
Terms of employment
The employment is full-time and permanent. Probationary employment for 6 months may be applied. Starting date 2023-10-01 or according to agreement.
Application
Your application should contain
- A personal letter, max 2 pages, including a motivation for why you want to join this effort.
- CV with publication list.
- Doctoral degree certificate
You apply via our recruitment system Varbi. Last application date is 2023-08-23
Contact
Björn Nystedt, NBIS Support Manager, tel +46 18 471 44 13, bjorn.nystedt@scilifelab.se
Johan Trygg, UmU DDLS Data Science Node, tel +46 730 647 137, johan.trygg@umu.se
Johannes Hanson, Dept Plant Physiology, tel +46 722 243 283, johannes.hanson@umu.se
The Department of Plant Physiology carries out research and postgraduate education in different fields of the plant sciences including, ecology, biochemistry, physiology and development, and genomics. The department is part of the Umeå Plant Science Centre, which hosts close to 200 employees and 40 principal investigators, representing about 35 nationalities. For more information please visit http://www.plantphys.umu.se/english/ and http://www.upsc.se.
Umeå University strives to offer an equal environment where open dialogue between people with different backgrounds and perspectives lay the foundation for learning, creativity and development. We welcome people with different backgrounds and experiences to apply for the current employment.
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