Research Associate (Bioinformatics)

UWA Medical School

Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research

• This role offers an exciting opportunity to be part of a multi-disciplinary team to analyse poor prognosis cancers using cutting edge spatial profiling.
• Full-time appointment on a two-year fixed term basis
• Base salary range: Level A, $80,520 – $108,362 p.a. plus 17% superannuation
• Based at QEII Medical Centre

About the team

The Forrest Group is a cutting-edge research lab specializing in advanced transcriptome techniques, including single-cell and spatial transcriptomics. Our multi-disciplinary team of molecular, cellular and computational biologists collaborates to unravel complex biological questions in both genomics and cancer research. We are leading the Western Australian Cancer Single Cell initiative which is using single-cell, single-nuclei and spatial transcriptomic profiling to characterize hundreds of tumour samples kindly donated by patients around Perth. We are seeking a talented and motivated Bioinformatics Postdoctoral Researcher to join our dynamic team. The Systems Biology and Genomics lab has a strong focus on analysis of genome-wide datasets to better understand how tumours work as a cellular ecosystem.

About the opportunity

You will, under minimal supervision, perform computational processing and analysis of sequencing datasets, maintain and develop bioinformatics pipelines, interpret results, and contribute to manuscript writing. The primary focus will be on analysing single-cell and spatial transcriptomics datasets (e.g. Vizgen, Xenium, VisumHD), with potential opportunities to work on other datasets, such as Hi-C and bulk RNA-seq.

You should be highly self-driven, with a strong passion for applying computational methods to understand the tumour ecosystem and its interacting cells. Attention to detail and a curiosity to ask questions and design experiments to answer them are essential.

About you 

• PhD in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Data Science, Computer Science or a related field.
• Strong programming skills, with proficiency in Python, R, or other relevant languages.
• Experience with bioinformatics tools and libraries for genomics analysis (e.g., Seurat, Scanpy, CellRanger, Nextflow, Singularity, Docker).
• Expertise in machine learning techniques and deep learning frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn).
• Demonstrated commitment in participating in high quality research evidenced by peer-reviewed journal articles published in respected scholarly journals.  
• Demonstrated ability to supervise students and research assistants.

Position description:   POSITION DESCRIPTION - [Research Associate (Bioinformatics) 519593] - Level [A].pdf

To learn more about this opportunity, please contact Professor Alistair Forrest at alistair.forrest@perkins.uwa.edu.au

How to apply

The content of your Resume and Cover Letter should demonstrate how you meet the selection criteria.

Closing date: 11:55 PM AWST on Wednesday, 12 March 2025

This position is only open to applicants with relevant rights to work in Australia

About the University

The University of Western Australia (UWA) is ranked among the top 100 universities in the world and a member of the prestigious Australian Group of Eight research intensive universities. With a strong research track record, vibrant campus and working environments, supported by the freedom to innovate and inspire, there is no better time to join Western Australia’s top university.

Learn more about us.

 Our commitment to inclusion and diversity

UWA is committed to a diverse workforce and an equitable and inclusive workplace. We are committed to fostering a safe environment for all, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, the LGBTIQA+ community, and people living with disability.

If you require any reasonable adjustments, we encourage you to advise us at the time of application. Alternatively, you can contact us for assistance during the recruitment process.

If you have queries relating to your application, please contact the individual named in the advertisement. Alternatively, please contact the Talent team at talent-hr@uwa.edu.au with details of your query. To enable a quick response, please include the 6-digit job reference number.