Research Investigator - Bioinformatics

Research Investigator (Bioinformatics)

From caring for patients to conducting clinical and translational research, the Lymphoma and Myeloma department is one of the largest multidisciplinary programs treating these cancers of the blood in the U.S.Led by our faculty team of 25 physicians and scientists, our patients benefit from a team approach that includes our colleagues in radiology, surgery, radiation therapy, hematopathology, and stem cell transplantation, as well as clinical pharmacists, research and clinical nurses, social workers, and dietitians.

Ideal candidate: We seek a talented and highly motivated Research Investigator to lead computational biology efforts for clinical and translational projects in the Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma at MD Anderson Cancer Center. The candidate will in collaboration with clinical and laboratory investigators on cutting edge correlative science for clinical trials and other preclinical and translational research, using a range of bulk and single cell omic technologies.

JOB SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES

Research and Design Activities. Assists principal investigator with scientific research projects. Functions in a separate and independent manner in the design and initiation of research experiments. Designs, develops or adapts equipment used in experiments or research to obtain desired results. Determines specific goals or objectives to be obtained, evaluates research data and develops and revises techniques or approaches to work problems. Represents department or research committees as needed. Plans, organizes, coordinates and participates in scientific research projects. Participates in research activities developing new and innovative techniques working with large numbers of materials and data, developing and implementing support systems to document research results. Applies technical expertise and experience to plan, coordinate, design, supervise, and carry out research projects. Coordinates all activities relating to the analyses of genomic data. These bioinformatics approaches will involve: single cell multi-ome sequencing (scMO-seq) on tumor biopsies to identify characteristics of the tumor cells (phenotypic and transcriptomic) and the immune microenvironment that are associated response. Beneficial skill sets would also involve experience in analyzing DNA-seq, RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, methyl-seq, TCR-seq data. Programming experience with biological model fitting, predictive marker identification and other and big data analysis approaches also needed including sample processing, data collection, and data analysis. Oversees data collection, data processing and data analyses for observational data from large datasets. Performs independent data analysis.

Lab Operations. Designs, develops or adapts equipment used in experiments or research to obtain desired results. Uses research knowledge and expertise to identify and resolve laboratory operational issues, data collection and management issues and interacts with all levels of internal and external sources to resolve problems. Ensures laboratory adherence to safety standards. Supervise, coordinate, implement, and evaluate the various activities, functions, and procedures involving the daily activity within the research group.

Training and Publications. Responsible for training junior staff to work in selected technical areas, as well as training in all areas of safety. Compiles, writes and evaluates data for publication purposes and submits project results to PI in appropriate digital format. It is necessary for the Research Investigator to perform peer reviews of published scientific articles to validate theories and corroborate research. Actively prepares and submits for presentation and peer-reviewed publication abstracts and manuscripts related to research outcomes. The investigator will be expected to be able to present the results of their work in laboratory research meetings. Subject to the ability and inclination of the individual, as well as the judgment of the principal investigator, opportunities to present findings at national meetings may arise as well. This individual will share in authorship of all publications which arise from this work in a manner to be determined by the principal investigator, and in proportion to their role in the research findings.

Education Required: Bachelor's degree in one of the natural sciences or related field.

Education Preferred: Individuals with a PhD degree in computational biology, bioinformatics, data science or a related field

Experience Required: Five years of experience in scientific or experimental research work. With preferred degree, three years of required experience.

Experience Preferred: A strong computational background, proficiency in R and at least one additional scripting language (e.g. Python, Perl) and knowledge in biostatistics. Experience working with single cell sequencing data analysis and high-performance computing environment (Unix/Linux). A good understanding of cancer biology, immunology, cell biology, and molecular biology is also preferred. Excellent spoken and written communication skills are required.

It is the policy of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to provide equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other basis protected by institutional policy or by federal, state or local laws unless such distinction is required by law. http://www.mdanderson.org/about-us/legal-and-policy/legal-statements/eeo-affirmative-action.html