Bioinformatician

200 staff. Limitless Potential. One team. Cancer Research Horizons.  

Bioinformatician

£39,800 - £44,850 pa depending on experience plus benefits

Reports to: Principal Bioinformatician

Directorate: Research & Innovation

Contract: 12 month fixed-term contract (Maternity Cover)

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week

Location: Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge CB22 3AT ( 2-3 days on site)

Closing date: 08 December 2024 23:55

This vacancy may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received or once a suitable candidate is found, therefore we strongly recommend that you apply early to avoid disappointment. Please let us know if there is anything about the recruitment process that you would like to discuss, in particular if there are any changes or adjustments that would make it easier for you to apply. Please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible.

Visa sponsorship: Cancer Research UK can consider visa sponsorship for this vacancy. If this applies to you, please ensure that this is clearly marked on your application. 

Recruitment process: Screening call, followed by on site interview  which will include competency based questions and a presentation

Interview date: W/C 16 December 2024

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

Are you a passionate Bioinformatician looking for the opportunity to work on exciting drug discovery projects at the world’s leading cancer research charity? We have an opportunity for you to join our Bioinformatics team, and be based at our Babraham institute. Within the role you will Integrate and interpret biological pathway data to help answer critical-path biological questions in line with our mission.

About Cancer Research Horizons

At Cancer Research UK, our focus is on beating cancer. As the world’s biggest medical research charity, we’ve helped bring eleven new cancer drugs to market. However, there is still an urgent need to bring more effective treatments to patients faster.

We have recently developed a new approach to driving therapeutic innovation through the creation of Cancer Research Horizons. We have brought together Cancer Research UK’s established drug discovery teams under one organisation and leadership team, combining our unique pipeline of world class biology, cutting edge technology platforms and clinical expertise to 1) bring new treatments to patients faster and 2) tackle the biggest challenges in discovering cancer drugs by seeking out more radical ideas and embracing risk in our bid to achieve success. Based at a variety of location, Cancer Research Horizons employs ~200 staff from both industrial and academic backgrounds, you can find out more information here

This is a unique opportunity to be part of a growing bioinformatics team helping to progress data-driven drug discovery and contribute directly to patient benefit. Currently a team of 5, you will have the chance to gain a broader range of experience and take the lead on projects. The ideal candidates will have; excellent communication skills; a collaborative mentality with the ability and confidence to work independently where required; and be commitment to continued development.

This could be the perfect opportunity to utilise your expertise in a cause-driven environment helping Cancer Research to beat cancer sooner. 

What will I be doing?

• Analysing and interpreting CRISPR knockout experiments from quality control through to biological interpretations

• Collaborative working with other members of bioinformatic team as well as lab scientists across disciplines including Biosciences and Molecular Sciences, to deliver high quality analyses for projects and assisting optimisation of the wet lab processes.

• Integrating and interpreting functional genomics and biological pathway data, from in-house and public sources, to identify and validate novel oncology targets and inform disease positioning  

• Working proactively with domain experts and project teams to help answer critical-path biological questions, and support day-to-day lab work 

• Providing critical assessment of current data sources, processes and analysis tools 

• Contributing to the development of best practices for data analysis and visualisation for CRH scientists

• Communicating effectively, to influence multiple stakeholders and collaborate across projects and sites.

• Promoting scientific excellence, through external publication, presentations

• Ensuring equality and diversity is celebrated and considered as part of all decisions taken.

What experience/skills do I need?  

• BSc, MSc or PhD in Bioinformatics, Biological Sciences, Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, or equivalent

• Some experience analysing data from high-throughput genome-wide experiments and interpretation of the results in a functional-genomics framework

• Experience of working with statistical packages (R strongly preferred), scripting languages (Python strongly preferred), and reporting/visualisation tools (e.g. Shiny)

• An understanding of good experimental design and the application of statistical methodologies for the interpretation of experimental data

• Experience applying bioinformatics techniques to identify novel drug target

Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.

Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination  

Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism   

Human: Act to have a positive impact on people  

Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively

We’re looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.

If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you.

What will I gain?

We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.

You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page.

How do I apply?

We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won’t be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you fairly and objectively.

For more information on this career opportunity please visit our website or contact us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk.  

For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Cancer Research UK is committed to safeguarding the wellbeing of its staff, volunteers, beneficiaries and other people who come into contact with the charity through all of its diverse range of activities. To review our safeguarding statement please visit Safeguarding at Cancer Research UK | Cancer Research UK

Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.

We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen. Please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible. 

Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.