Research Assistant - Bioinformatics

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 better diagnose, treat, predict and prevent disease. From the individual patient with rare disease, to the many thousands affected by complex, widespread illness, we are pioneering discoveries across diseases that have the deepest impact on our community.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Research Assistant is accountable for assisting with bioinformatic analysis of experiments conducted within the Swarbrick Laboratory, with strategic guidance and training from postdoctoral bioinformaticians in the Swarbrick Laboratory. 

The Swarbrick lab are global leaders in the application of cellular genomics to human cancer, to find new diagnostics and treatments for society’s most challenging cancers. We are a diverse multidisciplinary team of scientists and clinicians with a vision to change cancer medicine. More information can be found at www.swarbricklab.com

Major projects include generation of an international, large-scale, multi-omic breast cancer atlas and understanding the cellular mediators of response to cancer immunotherapy in breast cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma. The Laboratory is generating substantial single-cell sequencing (scRNA-Seq), spatial transcriptomics and other genomic and proteomic datasets from clinical samples and preclinical models. The RA will be actively working on the integration of these large multi-omic datasets and developing scalable, robust, cloud-based computational frameworks. The RA will learn and apply advanced methods in AI and Machine learning.

This role will suit a computational science/bioinformatics graduate with training and experience in advanced computational techniques and with an interest in cancer biology, spatial molecular biology or cellular genomics.

Salary: Up to $99,000 + 14% superannuation + salary packaging (depending on experience)

Employment Type: 2 year 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

• Developing, maintaining and executing bioinformatic pipelines/workflows, particularly in relation to scRNA-seq and spatial transcriptomic data

• Contribute to the existing codebase in collaboration with other team members, including debugging, refactoring and enhancing legacy code

• Document new code, and make improvements to existing documentation

• Track, archive and actively manage raw and processed data in accordance with established procedures and policies

• Analyse clinical and experimental data, with an emphasis on relevance to clinical translation

• Assist other team members with their analyses

• Adopt, test and benchmark analytical packages for incorporation into analyses and standardised pipelines

• Present results internally and externally

ABOUT YOU

Essential Knowledge and Skills:

• BSc or MSc in computer science or a quantitative discipline (Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics, Software Engineering, or a related field)

• Experience with version control systems, particularly Git

• Experience using R and/or Python programming language

• Familiarity with the Unix command line and high-performance computing environments and/or cloud computing

Desirable Knowledge and Skills:

• Knowledge   of   the   fundamentals   of   molecular   biology:   DNA   transcription   and translation

• Experience in the analysis of large molecular datasets, such as whole genome and transcriptomic sequencing data

• Experience in handling, processing, and interpreting large-scale biological datasets derived from scRNA-seq and spatial technologies, such as Visium or Xenium, would be particularly beneficial

• Experience working in a multidisciplinary team

• Appreciation of ethical dimensions of clinical research

Personal Qualities:

• Excellent communication skills for written reports and oral presentations

• Excellent organisational and time management skills

• Strong desire to work co-operatively with other team members

• Commitment to data organisation and implementation of quality controls

• An interest in understanding how cancers evolve and progress

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.