Main Purpose of the Job

The post holder will contribute to the activities of Core Bioinformatics, particularly the institute’s research of the “Food, Microbiome and Health” programme, which generates several datasets from metagenomes, transcriptomes, and other -omics analyses.

The candidate will use Python and R to analyse datasets from metabarcoding, metagenomics, RNA-Seq or other -omics applications to gain insights on the observed biological effects, test hypotheses and generate visualisations. Knowledge of statistics is a highly desirable skill for this post.

Key Relationships

You will report to the Head of Bioinformatics and work with the Core Bioinformatics scientists and the researchers involved in the 'Food, Microbiomes and Health' ISP. 

For specific tasks or projects, you’ll also work more closely with some group leaders and their team members (postdocs, students, etc.), and your ability to collaborate with a diverse set of scientists will be important.
 

Main Activities & Responsibilities

Assist project design for sequencing and other omics studies

Execute and troubleshoot analytical pipelines (e.g. nf-core) using an HPC or Cloud VMs

Evaluate the results critically, performing QC and advising on downstream analyses

Analyse datasets using R (and bioconductor) and Python (and Pandas)

Generate visualisations using ggplot2 (or similar methods)

Manage tickets from the support system of Core Bioinformatics

Contribute to maintaining an updated documentation wiki

Deliver internal training and seminars

Contribute to research papers (bioinformatics or data analysis sections)

Occasionally, participate in national or international conferences or meetings

In coordination with the line manager, additional tasks related to the efficient operation of core bioinformatics may also be undertaken.

Education & Qualifications

Requirement

Importance

Degree in biotechnology, microbiology, bioinformatics or a similar subject

Essential

PhD in Bioinformatics or related subject

Essential

Specialist Knowledge & Skills

Requirement

Importance

Expert user-level experience of Linux

Essential

Knowledge of microbiome bioinformatics

Essential

Data visualisation skills

Essential

Understanding of statistical tests and how to perform them

Desirable

Knowledge of microbial genomics

Desirable

Relevant Experience

Requirement

Importance

Experience in contributing to scientific manuscripts

Essential

Experience in analysis of datasets (either microbiome, RNA-Seq, or other -omics datasets)

Essential

Theorical or working knowledge of multi-omics methods

Desirable

Theorical or working knowledge or affinity of eukaryotic genomics (e.g. fungi, murine, human, plant)

Desirable

Theorical or working knowledge of microbiology

Desirable

Management and Leadership

Requirement

Importance

Promotes and strives for continuous improvement

Essential

Interpersonal & Communication Skills

Requirement

Importance

Ability to write clear technical documentation

Essential

Ability to present in public

Essential

Additional Requirements

Requirement

Importance

Attention to detail

Essential

Promotes equality and values diversity

Essential

Ability to communicate effectively with scientists from a broad spectrum of research

Essential

Quadram Institute Bioscience

The Quadram Institute is at the forefront of a new interface between food science, gut biology and health, developing solutions to worldwide challenges in food-related disease and human health.

We are engaged in fundamental and translational food and health research, alongside clinical studies, endoscopy and industry, working together to become a leading international hub for food and health research, combining scientific excellence and clinical expertise, delivering impacts on patient care and accelerating innovation.

The Quadram Institute is a diverse and multicultural scientific community. We thrive on our international and European links, appointing staff from across the world. Any candidate who would like further information on current or anticipated immigration requirements can contact the HR Team on +44 (0)1603 450888 or nbi.recruitment@nbi.ac.uk.

For more information about working at Quadram Institute Bioscience, please click here.

Department

Food, Microbiome and Health

Group Details

You will be embedded within the Core Bioinformatics team for the Quadram Institute Bioscience, to support the bioinformatics activities of the ‘Food, Microbiomes, and Health’ Institute Strategic Programme (FMH ISP), a multigroup effort to elucidate the effect of plant-based diets on human health (see https://quadram.ac.uk/research_areas/food-microbiome-and-health/). The programme will generate multi-omics datasets to be analysed and integrated.

Core Bioinformatics develops reproducible and scalable analytical pipelines with a focus on promoting efficiency. There are ample computing resources for these pipelines. Both the supporting team and supporting infrastructure will accelerate your research. 
Core Bioinformatics manages the Institute's self-service infrastructure, including a Galaxy instance and an OpenNebula cloud, and provides regular training events for researchers and students. 

You will work with Quadram researchers on publishing the findings of the studies.

Living in Norfolk

• Visit Norfolk
• Schools in Norfolk
• Childcare in Norfolk

Bioinformatics Data Scientist

Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB) is seeking an enthusiastic and motivated Bioinformatics Software Engineer to join the Core Bioinformatics team to support the research activities of the ‘Food, Microbiomes, and Health’ ISP. 

Background:

The successful candidate will be embedded within the Core Bioinformatics team for the Quadram Institute Bioscience, to support the bioinformatics activities of the ‘Food, Microbiomes, and Health’ Institute Strategic Programme (FMH ISP), a multigroup effort to elucidate the effect of plant-based diets on human health (see https://quadram.ac.uk/research_areas/food-microbiome-and-health/). The programme will generate multi-omics datasets to be analysed and integrated.

Core Bioinformatics develops reproducible and scalable analytical pipelines with a focus on promoting efficiency. There are ample computing resources for these pipelines. Both the supporting team and supporting infrastructure will accelerate your research. 
Core Bioinformatics manages the Institute's self-service infrastructure, including a Galaxy instance and an OpenNebula cloud, and provides regular training events for researchers and students. 

The role:

Several research themes at the institute require strong bioinformatics support, such as analysing microbial genomes, microbiomes, and other -omics datasets related to food, gut health, and nutrition.

As a research bioinformatician, you will be involved in designing and analysing projects related to microbiome composition, transcriptome analysis, and other -omics studies. The FMH programme conducts several human studies (and corresponding murine models), generating substantial data to explore, analyse, and present.

You will lead some projects and assist with the analyses of others, working in a well-established team of bioinformaticians, software engineers and data scientists. 
Your experience in similar research settings, where you applied your data science skills (using Python or R) to analyse, integrate and present data with high-quality visualisations, will be applied to exciting projects.

The ideal candidate:

Good familiarity with the Linux command line is paramount, as some experience with coding that you will be able to expand thanks to a team of experienced bioinformaticians.

Our core bioinformatics team has access to and partially maintains a robust infrastructure that includes an HPC (with Slurm, Singularity support, large memory nodes, and GPUs), a private cloud (OpenNebula), and a Galaxy instance.

Core bioinformatics delivers several training opportunities for the institute, and your ability to present technical concepts in an easy-to-understand way will be important both in formal training settings, as well as when gathering requirements for the analysis from collaborators in the institute. 

Additional information:

Salary on appointment will be within the range £36,000 to £39,750 per annum depending on qualifications and experience. This is a full-time time post for a contract of 46 months.

This role meets the criteria for a visa application, and we encourage all qualified candidates to apply.  Please contact the Human Resources Team if you have any questions regarding your application or visa options.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sectors of society.  The Institute supports equality of opportunity within the workplace and expects all employees to share and display these values.  To support our commitment, we have a range of family, faith and diversity friendly working arrangements to help all staff achieve excellence in their area of work.

As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to offer an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for this vacancy.

About the Quadram Institute:

The Quadram Institute is a new interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to understanding how food and microbes interact to promote health and prevent disease. Its mission is to deliver healthier lives through innovation in gut health, microbiology and food. A partnership between Quadram Institute Bioscience, the University of East Anglia, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and BBSRC, it brings together scientists and clinicians in a state-of-the-art building on the Norwich Research Park. This is one of Europe’s largest centres of life sciences and home of the John Innes Centre and The Earlham Institute. (https://quadram.ac.uk/).

The closing date for applications will be 10 September 2024.

The Quadram Institute Bioscience is a registered charity (No. 1058499) and is an Equal Opportunities Employer.