2. Job Purpose

An exciting opportunity to join the research team at Khalifa University\'s Center for Biotechnology (BTC) has been established for an upcoming "Bioinformatician" with leadership aspirations. In the role of " Bioinformatician", the successful candidate will assist provide high quality research support to assist in the management of an internationally competitive research portfolio in field of biotechnology and biomedical science. It is the successful candidate will publish research outcomes in high quality peer-reviewed technical journals, thereby contributing to research mission of the university.

Since the experience of a Bioinformatician is a transitional role towards becoming an independent researcher or faculty member, the successful candidate will try their best to acquire the varied skills necessary to advance their career with guidance from an advisor. These skills include, but will be not limited to, the ability to present research plans and findings in a convincing style, both in oral and written modes of communication, the ability to understand research group management and supervision of others, the ability to establish contacts and network with colleagues pursuing a similar research agenda, the ability to organize and teach a class or a course if more inclined towards a teaching career.

3. Key Roles & Responsibilities

Strategic Responsibilities

The Biotechnology Center at Khalifa University is seeking a candidate for Research Associate appointment in discipline relevant to Bioinformatics.

Starting dates for these positions will be Nov 1st 2023 till 31st Dec 2025

The responsibilities of Research Associate members shall be an appropriate combination of:

• Research, scholarly or other creative activities.
• Research service.

Operational Responsibilities

Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that incorporates computer science and biology to research, develop, and apply computational tools and approaches to manage and process large sets of biological data. * The Bioinformatics career focuses on creating software tools to store, manage, interpret, and analyze data at the genome, proteome, transcriptome, and metabolome levels. Primary investigations consist of integrating information from DNA and protein sequences and protein structure and function.

• Bioinformatics jobs exist in biomedical, molecular medicine, human, agricultural, plant and animal science fields.

Experience in analyzing WGS/WES sequencing data across different platforms (ONT, illumina, MGI) from different biological species (human, animal, plant) and specimens (blood, saliva, buccal).

The main areas of work are: * Quality Control

• Sequence assembly - putting the pieces together in the right order.
• Database design & maintenance - maintaining databanks of gene sequences, constantly updating (companies often maintain their own private databases).
• Sequence (gene) analysis - understanding the function of a gene, what bits do what; may be done by comparing against known genes; carried out using powerful computers and specialized software.
• Proteomics - studies the portion of the genome expressed in particular cells using cutting edge technology. Bioinformatics specialists work closely with bench scientists to do this \xe2\x80\x9cdata-mining\xe2\x80\x9d.
• Transcriptomics - single cell RNA sequencing and Bulk RNA sequencing
• Pharmacogenomics - how single point mutations or alterations in the genome at specific positions can be associated with particular disease states and with reduced/increased sensitivity to particular drugs. Bioinformaticians are at forefront in collecting these into databases for analysis and application of this data
• Leverage computational biology and machine learning expertise to develop novel bioinformatics solutions and push state of the art.
• Present and communicate your findings in cross-functional teams.
• Provide feedback and suggest research directions based on analyses performed.
• Utilize data visualization tools and develop reports for superiors and partners.

Able to perform basic QA/QC analysis and utilize commercial software packages to perform SNP calling, genome assembly, limited phylogenetic analysis and whole genome analysis. May be able to work at the command line level to perform some bioinformatics analysis or build pipeline with limited capabilities. Able to develop, test and implement custom bioinformatics pipelines. Capable of analyzing a wide range of data from different sources. Excellent knowledge of at least one scripting language and Unix, and may be able to work with statistical packages such as R. Can provide some guidance to the clinical labs on requirements needed (such as type of sequencing or number of reads needed) to perform the bioinformatics analysis.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Contributes to research center or University-wide working groups or committees as requested.
• Fosters service by contributing to the community at large in participatory, developmental and advisory capacity.
• Supports and participates in research activities.

Can develop complex bioinformatics solutions with no or limited supervisions. Can handle multiple projects at any given time. Will act as a resource for guidance during the design, development and testing phase of projects. Can work independently or be an integral part of a research team. Will participate in the production of high-quality scientific communication and grant proposals. Can train and lead lower level bioinformatics staffs.

Qualifications

4. Qualifications & Experience

Required Qualifications

Masters or equivalent in computational biology, multi-omics analysis, Genomics, computer science, epidemiology, statistics, mathematics, or another quantitative field.

Required Experience

The candidate must have: * Substantial experience with computational, statistical, and epidemiologic data analysis.

• Demonstrated computational analysis skills in complex disease (Diabetes, cardiovascular disease) omics association studies.
• The necessary skills to create mathematical models, develop dynamic simulations, and perform pattern analyses of large comprehensive datasets
• Experience and training in genomic analyses.
• Sufficient skills and analysis in proteomics and metabolomics
• Strong quantitative analysis skills and experience developing algorithms and/or conducting biostatistical analyses with large datasets, particularly genome-wide assays such as whole genome data (Whole genome/exome Sequencing) and large SNP arrays.
• Experience in secondary analysis tools, algorithms, databases for sequencing data.
• Experience with analyzing genome sequencing data from multiple technologies.
• Experience with using machine learning to solve biological problems.
• Good knowledge in genomics and/or statistics.
• Proficiency in programming, e.g. Python, R, Java, C++.
• Skills in data analytics or data science are a plus.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Team player known for your fanatical attention to detail at scale in a fast-paced environment.
• Proven track record in presenting and publishing scientific articles.
• A thorough understanding of biostatistics & statistical genetic methods
• Extremely strong computational skills, with demonstrable competence in the management and analysis of large-scale data, proficiency in high-level programming languages and statistical computing
• An excellent record of scientific publications in top tier journals
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to present and explain findings to a diverse audience
• Motivation and ability to succeed in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment
• A keen interest in applying computation to solve biological problems and achieve translational goa

Should you require further assistance or if you face any issue with the online application, please feel to contact the Recruitment Team ( ).

Primary Location: Abu Dhabi UAE
Job: Research Associate
Schedule: Regular
Shift: Standard
Job Type: Full-time

Times Higher Education