Bioinformatics/Computational Biology job opportunity at UW-Madison/GLBRC

[Yury Bukhman]

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
Position Vacancy Listing
PVL# 73320
Working title:
Computational Biology Scientist
Official title:
ASSOCIATE SCIENTIST(E10FN) or ASSISTANT SCIENTIST(E10LN)

QUALIFICATIONS

Degree and area of specialization:
Ph.D. in Bioinformatics or a related field, including biological sciences, statistics, computer science, mathematics or physical sciences.

Minimum number of years and type of relevant work experience:
3 years of bioinformatics experience, including thesis work, post-doctoral and/or professional experience. Expertise in Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) data analysis is essential. 

The successful applicant will have a combination of bioinformatics, statistical, computer and biological expertise. Essential skills and experience for this position include the following:
+ Hands-on experience in the analysis of RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, and/or genome resequencing data
+ Understanding of statistical methodologies widely used in omics data analysis, such as statistical tests for differential expression, multiple testing corrections, clustering
+ R programming skills and Bioconductor
+ Strong verbal and written communications skills
+ Independence, creativity, and ability to learn new skills
+ Demonstrated productivity through co-authorship of peer-reviewed publications

Skills or experience in any of the following areas (in addition to the essential skills and experience listed above) will be a plus:
+ Experience working in a bioinformatics core or similar environment
+ Microbial biology experience, with yeasts or bacteria
+ Bioenergy research experience
+ General purpose programming language(s) such as Perl, Ruby, Python, C/C++ or Java including specialized bioinformatics packages such as BioPerl
+ Experience of analyzing other types of high-throughput data, e.g. microarrays, metabolomics, high-throughput screening, proteomics
+ Integration of multiple types of high-throughput data
+ Biological data mining software, such as Partek or Spotfire
+ Biological data visualization
+ Biological pathway and/or network analysis
+ Relational databases: SQL; MS Access, Oracle, MySQL, or PostgreSQL; relational database design principles
+ High performance computing
+ Plant biology

PRINCIPAL DUTIES

The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) is housed at the University of Wisconsin and partners with Michigan State University along with other academic, private sector and national laboratories. The GLBRC is one of three Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Centers (BRCs) to conduct fundamental, genomics-based research on microbial and plant systems required to realize the national need for low-cost biofuels. The GLBRC's mission is grand, but simply stated: to perform the basic research that generates technology to convert cellulosic biomass to ethanol and other advanced biofuels. GLBRC represents a multidisciplinary partnership with expertise spanning the physical and biological sciences, including genomics, microbial and plant biology, analytical chemistry, computational biology and bioinformatics, and engineering.

The incumbent will become a key member of the Computational Biology Core Group.  The principal responsibility of this position will be top-quality support of the various GLBRC research projects at the experimental design, data analysis and publication stages, ultimately resulting in co-authorship on peer-reviewed papers.  Examples of current and future projects include analysis of RNA-seq, ChIP-seq and metabolomics data in bacterial and yeast fermentation time course experiments, analysis of microbial growth curves in high-throughput phenotype screens, and integration of multi-platform data. An ability to derive biologically meaningful and statistically rigorous results and effectively communicate them to multi-disciplinary teams will be essential. This will require regular and effective communication and collaboration with bench scientists and other bioinformaticians.

Another important responsibility will be participation in design and development of in-house data repositories and custom software. Specific duties may include database design, setting up analytical workflows, developing requirements for user interfaces, and participation in software testing. This will require effective communication and collaboration with end users (primarily bench scientists), other bioinformaticians, programmers, LIMS developers, IT personnel, and knowledge management professionals.

This position offers an opportunity to play an important role in the activities of a keystone research center for the first great national challenge of the 21st century, sustainable energy independence. For additional information regarding the GLBRC, visit our website: http://www.glbrc.org
 
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A criminal background check will be conducted prior to hiring.
A period of evaluation will be required
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Appointment type:
Academic Staff
Department(s):
AG&LSC/WI BIOENERGY INT
Full time salary rate:
from $60,000, depending on qualifications
Term:
This is a renewable appointment.
Appointment percent:
100%
Anticipated begin date:
Nov 6, 2012
Number of positions:
1

TO ENSURE CONSIDERATION
Application must be received by: November 01, 2012

HOW TO APPLY:
Unless another application procedure has been specified above, please send resume and cover letter referring to Position Vacancy Listing #73320 to
Pam Arnold
Email: par...@glbrc.wisc.edu

NOTE: Unless confidentiality is requested in writing, information regarding the names of applicants must be released upon request. Finalists cannot be guaranteed confidentiality.
UW-Madison is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. We promote excellence through diversity and encourage all qualified individuals to apply.