Bioinformatician

The Garvan Institute of Medical Research brings together world-leading researchers and clinicians, collaborating locally and globally to improve human health. Our mission is to harness all the information encoded in our genome to diagnose better, treat, predict and prevent disease. From individual patients with rare diseases to the many thousands affected by complex, widespread illnesses, we are pioneering discoveries across diseases that have the deepest impact on our community.   

THE OPPORTUNITY

We seek a bioinformatician to join the Neavin team within the Translational Genomics Program. The work focuses on understanding the impact of biological variation on molecular phenotypes like gene expression and chromatin accessibility at the level of individual cells. The successful candidate will work with Dr Drew Neavin to use >13,000 single cell samples to explore how technical and biological variables contribute to variation in single cell molecular phenotypes. These include genetic effects as well as impacts of genetic ancestry, sex and disease. The ultimate goal of this research is to provide understanding of human biology and contributors to interindividual variation in disease and health.

Salary: Up to $88,800 + 14% super + salary packaging (depending on experience)

Employment Type: 2 year full time term contract with possibility to extend

SNAPSHOT OF BENEFITS

• Generous salary packaging to save you income tax on your wages thereby boosting your monthly take home pay (max. $15,900 general expenses + $2,650 meals/accom)

• Ample opportunities for on-going training and development

• Stimulating, diverse and highly international research environment

• Flexible work arrangements e.g. start / finish times

• 18 weeks paid parental leave for both parents including paid superannuation

• A range of additional leave types to meet your personal needs including cultural leave, conference leave, community service and study leave

• Discounted Health Insurance

• Lifestyle discounts with our community partners

WHAT YOU WILL DO

The incumbent bioinformatician will work with Dr Neavin to support computational research activities across the following areas:

• Bioinformatics

  • Developing, running and maintaining single-cell analysis pipelines

  • Developing computational methods for statistical genetics and single-cell ‘omics research

• Computational biology

  • Resolving the genetic mechanisms of complex human disease by applying single-cell and statistical genetics methods.

  • Application of ML/AI algorithms and software to large-scale genomic data

  • Analysing data to answer research questions

Additional responsibilities include:

• Staying informed on advances in computational genomics methods, as well as building and maintaining biological domain expertise

• Presenting results in internal meetings and conferences.

• Contributing to scientific manuscripts

• Collaborating with other group members and as part of national and international consortia

• Record-keeping and administrative aspects that underlie scientific research in discussion with group members and development of timelines.

• Attending, discussing and reviewing current and future techniques within the institute

In addition to supporting the outlined research activities, opportunities will be made available to pursue and publish leading research.

ABOUT YOU

A strong background in computational genomics, bioinformatics or data science is preferred. Highly motivated individuals with a strong attention to detail, multi-tasking skills, and a willingness to learn new technologies are also encouraged to apply.

Essential criteria

• An honours degree or higher qualification in a relevant field such as bioinformatics, computer science, biology, statistics or other relevant areas, or an equivalent combination of relevant experience and/or education/training.

• High proficiency in Python and/or R

• Experience with Unix and HPC environments

• Demonstrated experience using version control for code development and curation

• An interest in genetics, and cellular biology

• Excellent problem-solving skills

• Good communication skills and strong in teamwork and collaborative research

• Excellent project management and organisation skills

• Ability to work independently and meet deadlines

Desirable criteria

• Experience in managing large datasets in an HPC environment

• High proficiency in programming and scripting languages (e.g. C/C++, Java, Perl, Python)

• Advanced user of the R programming language and R-based statistical packages and tools, such as those available from the Bioconductor project for high throughput genomic data analysis

• Good knowledge of statistics and presentation of molecular/clinical data.

• Experience in analysing and interpreting large genomic data sets (WGS, RNA-Seq, scRNA-Seq)

• Experience and expertise in ML/AI algorithms for analysis of genomic data

ABOUT GARVAN

Garvan Institute of Medical Research is an independent Medical Research Institute (MRI) in Sydney, delivering scientific and clinical impact on a global basis and in partnership with organisations that share our vision. We are proud to be one of Australia’s largest and most highly regarded MRI’s.

Our vision is global leadership in discoveries to impact and our enduring purpose is to impact human health, by harnessing information encoded in our genome.

We seek to see our world-class discovery research achieve life-changing impacts, not only for individual patients with rare diseases, but for the many thousands affected by complex, common disease.

Garvan promotes a diverse workplace and is committed to the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. We are always looking for culture ‘add’, not culture ‘fit’ and are building diverse teams with great sets of complementary styles and skills to help deliver our important work effectively.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply for this position, please submit your application with a CV and cover letter as one document, stating why you are interested in this role. We are reviewing applications as they are received. If you think you’re the right person for this role, we’d love to hear how your capabilities, achievements and experience set you apart. Only applicants with full working rights in Australia are eligible to apply for this role.