Salary range: £36,000-£44,000 per annum depending on experience plus excellent benefits.
Fixed Term Contract for 3 Years.
Open Targets has recently launched Open Targets Genetics (https://genetics.opentargets.org), a portal that aggregates large scale GWAS data with functional genomics data to identify potential drug targets at disease-associated loci.
A Statistical Geneticist role funded by Open Targets, is available at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in a new team under the leadership of Dr. Maya Ghoussaini. This is an exciting opportunity for you to participate in the enhancement of the existing Open Targets Genetics Portal through de development of new functionality and features.
You will actively engage in the integration of new eQTL datasets and tissue-specific chromatin interaction datasets.
You will have the opportunity to work across a range of analysis such as:
Aggregate large scase GWAS data from multiple consortia and across a wide range of disease and traits. Perform association analysis on UK Biobank data with a particular focus on therapeutic areas important for Open Targets Work together with other members of the Open Targets team on statistical genetics analysis for large scale sequence analysis Work with existing members of the team to integrate genetic and cell-specific genomic data to identify and validate causal links between targets and diseases and improve the Genetics Portal. We welcome candidates with a background in statistical genetics or relevant discipline with advanced level of programming skills suitable for statistical genetic analyses of complex diseases. Experience in functional genomics data analysis is highly desirable. You will have the opportunity to interact with active computational and experimental research teams using cutting edge genomic techniques.
Essential Skills
- PhD in Statistical Genetics, Computational Biology or a closely related discipline.
- Advanced level programming skills suitable for statistical genetic analyses, such as R, Python, MATLAB.
- Firm grounding in statistical methods of complex disease genetics such as genome wide association studies, fine-mapping, high-throughput expression data, whole exome/genome sequencing, PheWAS, Mendelian Randomisation.
- Previous experience in working with large-scale genetic datasets.
- Ability to work to tight timelines.
- Demonstrable good project management and organisational skills.
- Ability to communicate ideas and results effectively.
- Ability to work independently and organise own workload.
Ideal Skills
- Experience in functional genomics data analysis (RNAseq, ChIPseq, etc);
- Experience with generating reproducible bioinformatics pipelines;
- A strong track record in preparing publications and other written materials;
- Interest in target validation and translational research.
Other information
Open Targets is a pioneering public-private initiative between GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Biogen, Takeda, Celgene, Sanofi, EMBL-EBI (European Bioinformatics Institute) and the WSI (Wellcome Sanger Institute), located on the Wellcome Genome Campus in Hinxton, near Cambridge, UK. Open Targets aims to generate evidence on the biological validity of therapeutic targets and provide an initial assessment of the likely effectiveness of pharmacological intervention on these targets, using genome-scale experiments and analysis. Open Targets aims to provide an R&D framework that applies to all aspects of human disease, to improve the success rate for discovering new medicines and share its data openly in the interests of accelerating drug discovery.
Our Campus:
Set over 125 acres, the stunning and dynamic Wellcome Genome Campus is the biggest aggregate concentration of people in the world working on the common theme of Genomes and BioData. It brings together a diverse and exceptional scientific community, committed to delivering life-changing science with the reach, scale and imagination to pursue some of humanity’s greatest challenges.
Our Benefits:
Our employees have access to a comprehensive range of benefits and facilities including:
- Group Defined Contribution Pension Scheme and Life Assurance
- Group Income Protection
- Private Health Insurance
- 25 days annual leave, increasing by one day a year to a maximum of 30
- Family friendly environment including options for flexible and part-time working, a childcare voucher scheme and Campus Nursery
- Two days paid Employee Volunteering Leave a year
- Employee Discount Scheme
- Campus Gym, tennis courts, cricket pitch and sports hall plus a range of dining facilities
- Active Campus Sports and Social Club
- Free Campus Bus Service
Genome Research Limited is an Equal Opportunity employer. As part of our dedication to gender equality and promoting women’s careers in science, we hold an Athena SWAN Bronze Award. We will consider all qualified applicants without discrimination on grounds of disability, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity leave status, race or national or ethnic origin, age, religion or belief, gender identity or re-assignment, marital or civil partnership status, protected veteran status (if applicable) or any other characteristic protected by law.
Please include a covering letter and CV with your application. Closing date: 28th February, however applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and therefore the post may be filled before the deadline.
To apply click on the following link: https://jobs.sanger.ac.uk/wd/plsql/wd_portal.show_job?p_web_site_id=1764&p_web_page_id=371402
