Bioinformatician

Main Purpose of Job

The person employed in this position will be expected help meet the bioinformatics needs of the Rowett Institute in the 2027-32 RESAS SRP, and to broaden the bioinformatics capacity within BioSS. They will be expected to interact with quantitative specialists in and beyond BioSS, and with a wide range of collaborators across the natural sciences; predominantly those working at the Rowett Institute and the Hutton, as well as the other SEFARI. This person will be expected to:

• Deliver collaborative research and bioinformatics consultancy across application areas in food systems, human health, and nutrition, with particular focus on the needs of the Rowett Institute.
• Development of a portfolio of personal research in bioinformatics, motivated by quantitative problems relevant to their collaborations
• Contribute to generating additional income by participating in applications for funding and contributing to resulting projects.

Main Duties of Postholder

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Provide a local on-site presence at the Rowett Institute, building collaborative relationships with Rowett Institute scientists.
• Deliver bioinformatics consultancy focussing on the requirements of Rowett science (e.g. RNA-seq, metabolomic, lipidomic and proteomic analyses, gut microbiomics).
• Develop specialist research expertise in bioinformatics relevant to the food production, security, resilience and safety topics included in the 2027-32 RESAS SRP tender.
• Collaborate broadly on research projects with a strong bioinformatics component, including with staff from the other SEFARI, and through BioSS’ established collaborative relationships (for example, including the BioSS frameworks with Forest Research, Scottish Power Renewables and UKCEH).
• Over time, contribute to project tenders and to successful projects, generating additional income.
• Represent BioSS at meetings with both scientific and non-scientific stakeholders, expanding our collaborative network.
• Engage with government agencies, NGOs, universities, and commercial organizations, and contribute to BioSS training courses for scientists.

Person Specification - Qualifications/Experience/Skills

Essential

• A PhD in bioinformatics or another very closely related quantitative discipline, or an MSc with commensurate post-qualification development and work experience.
• Experience developing and applying modern bioinformatics methods to real-world problems.
  • A track record of research and/or collaboration evidenced by scientific journal and conference papers in a methodological field relevant to food systems, human health, or nutrition.
  • Evidence of collaborative working at the interface between bioinformatics and other sciences, preferably in a field relevant to the remit of this post.
• General statistical skills, including an understanding of statistical methods relevant to the ‘omics’ sciences.
• Strong programming ability in R, Python or other high-level programming platforms, including familiarity with core bioinformatics tools and kits (e.g. Bioconductor, Nextflow, Snakemake, Biopython, BLAST, etc)
• Enthusiasm for development and application of quantitative methods, and for collaborating with applied scientists across a range of scientific disciplines.
• The ability to work independently.
• Evidence of good written communication skills.
• Good verbal communication skills, including the ability to give effective spoken presentations, to both quantitative and wider scientific audiences.
• Enthusiasm for contributing to funding applications.
• Evidence of ability to initiate and manage collaborations.

Desirable

• Different bioinformatics skillsets could fit the remit of the post, any of which would be desirable. For example, experience with analysis pipelines and tools in one or more of:
  • Transcriptomics: Short- and long-read RNA sequencing, gene expression and transcript analysis.
  • Proteomics: Protein identification, quantification and differential abundance analysis.
  • Metabolomics/lipidomics: Metabolite and lipid identification, quantification and pathway analysis.
  • Metabarcoding and eDNA: Taxonomic identification, community analysis and sequence variant inference.
  • Genomics and metagenomics: Genome assembly, annotation and comparative genomics.
  • development and/or application of machine learning/AI methods in these areas.

This list is explicitly not exhaustive.

• Experience in human health, nutrition, food security or food safety domains.
• Experience of communicating with government and commercial clients.
• Experience communicating scientific activity to the public, including use of social media.
• Experience of developing and contributing to funding applications.

Benefits offered

• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - A confidential service available to support employees and their families with work or personal problems. Providing access to professional counsellors, psychologists, and work-life consultants available to help and support individuals in tackling all types of problems.
• Annual Leave – Generous entitlement up to 40.5 days a year, with carry over possible and guaranteed time-off for Christmas.
• Pension - Employer Contribution of 15% in a Personal Pension Plan and employee contribution flexibility.
• Self-managed hours and Flexible Working – option to manage and spread your working time in line with organisational needs to create a healthy work life balance.

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