Research Associate - Specialism in Bioinformatics with potential Wetlab experience in Sheffield

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university. We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement, a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more.

Overview

Do you have a passion for using bioinformatics to understand immunology, RNA and gene-regulation? We are seeking an outstanding Postdoctoral Researcher to join an ambitious and interdisciplinary programme at the University of Sheffield investigating how RNA regulation controls innate immune responses during inflammation and infection. You will have a PhD in an appropriate subject and a research record in bioinformatics and the analysis of high-throughput sequencing data, including RNA-related datasets.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Design and conduct collaborative research into the molecular mechanisms regulating ELAVL1 function in innate immune cells.
• Process high-throughput datasets, and design and apply novel statistical analysis, visualisation, using R, Python, bash, or other suitable programming languages.
• Generate, integrate, and interpret large-scale multi-omics datasets, using them to generate and test novel hypotheses.
• Investigate post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms, including intron retention, mRNA stability, RNA editing, methylation, and protein phosphorylation.
• Design, analyse and perform high-throughput -omics experiments, including RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), eCLIP, SLAM-seq, RIP-seq, and associated transcriptomic datasets in vitro and in vivo.
• Contribute to experimental design, data interpretation, and dissemination of research findings through publications, presentations, and reports.
• Maintain accurate experimental records and comply with laboratory, ethical, and health and safety procedures.
• Collaborate effectively with researchers across molecular biology, bioinformatics, and imaging disciplines, and support the training of students and junior researchers where appropriate.

Essential Expertise

Candidates should have a PhD in a relevant biological and/or bioinformatic discipline and experience of bioinformatic analysis of the datasets generated by molecular and cellular biology, RNA biology, immunology, genomics, or related fields. Experience analysing large datasets using relevant programming languages are essential. Experience with CRISPR technologies, RNA-focused methodologies, transcriptomics, imaging experience or zebrafish models would be advantageous for candidates with dual wet-lab/bioinformatics expertise.

Person Specification

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply.

Criteria

• PhD in a relevant discipline e.g. Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, etc - Essential
• A proven track record of research in bioinformatics or computational biology - Essential
• Knowledge of Python, R or other programming languages and experience using UNIX-style operating systems - Essential
• Strong understanding of RNA biology - Essential
• Ability to design, analyse and troubleshoot experiments - Essential
• Ability to communicate efficiently and work between groups - Essential
• Knowledge of Github, Jupyter, Rmarkdown and other tools for reproducible computational analysis - Desirable
• Knowledge of standard Molecular Biology experimental techniques such as PCR and molecular cloning, and techniques specifically relevant to the study RNA biology, including mammalian cell culture, CRISPR and genome-wide RNA stability, splicing and editing measurement techniques such as RNA-seq, SLAM-seq or eCLIP - Desirable

What we offer

• A minimum of 41 days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
• Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
• Generous pension scheme.
• A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
• A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development.
• Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
• A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes; integrated with our Academic Career Pathways.
• A range of generous family-friendly policies paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies access to menopause support in the workplace paid time off and support for fertility treatment and more.