Senior Bioinformatics Research Scientist

St. Jude is developing a comprehensive effort to study the immune system in cancer patients, with particular applications aimed at developing and refining immunotherapy approaches. For this effort, bioinformatics is critical, and we are actively searching for a highly motivated scientist who will serve as an informatic bridge between the Departments of Immunology and Bone Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapy. In addition to spanning these two departments, you will be part of the Thomas Lab and will report to the Director of Immunoinformatics. Working alongside other bioinformaticians, clinicians, and staff scientists, you will have numerous opportunities to be involved in cutting-edge immunological research with direct translational applications, including analysis of near real-time data obtained from ongoing clinical trials. This work will in part entail the development, evaluation, and utilization of novel analytical tools related to bulk and single-cell expression and epigenetic analyses, including processes related to data processing, statistical analysis, network analysis, and data visualization; as such, this is a prime opportunity to develop expertise in the burgeoning field of single-cell bioinformatics broadly and in areas of cancer immunotherapy specifically.
Experience in R is required, and previous experience analyzing single-cell gene expression data is highly desirable but not required. Experience with general-purpose programming languages (C/C++, JavaScript, or PHP) preferred but not required. Background in molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, and/or cancer biology, wetlab environment, and familiarity with next-generation sequence analysis are highly preferred. Ability to effectively multitask and communicate clearly are both integral to success in this position.
Responsibilities

• Participates in the Department of Immunology’s independent research under the direction of the Director of Immunoinformatics, assisting with the analysis and interpretation of data.
• Gives public presentations to collaborators and team members to report scientific discoveries and educate researchers about relevant methods, software or scientific results.
• Contributes to the preparation and submission of manuscripts for publication as needed, including drafting and editing methods, results, and discussion of the research.
• Maintains scientific knowledge base in immunology and bioinformatics topics by reading published literature, giving presentations, and attending relevant talks or conferences.
• Formulates analytical plans that use the best approach to address challenging data analysis questions.
• Participates in collaborative research with interdepartmental investigators in basic and clinical research, particularly within the realms of cancer immunotherapy studies.
• Assists investigators in finding and using available bioinformatics software to address research needs.
• Learns new bioinformatics techniques (e.g., programming, Next-generation sequencing, and statistics) to meet the needs of interdepartmental investigators.
• Performs other duties as assigned to meet the goals and objectives of the department and institution.
• Leads the development and establishment of standard analytical workflows for assigned projects.
• Develops novel analytical procedures for unmet needs in the field of immunology as determined by the Director of Immunoinformatics. Contributes ideas to automate or improve existing analysis methods. Implements the improvement or works with others to do so.
• Assists with establishing and documenting protocols or best practices for common research tasks.
• Maintains regular and predictable attendance.

Minimum Education

• Master's degree or PhD preferred.
• Bachelor's degree in bioinformatics, cheminformatics, statistics/computer science (with a background in biological sciences or chemistry) or related field.

Minimum Experience

• Minimum Requirement: Bachelor's degree with 7+ years of relevant post-degree work in bioinformatics, cheminformatics, statistics/computer science (with a background in biological sciences or chemistry).
• Significant experience in at least one programming or scripting language and at least one statistical package, with R preferred.
• Experience Exception: Master's degree with 5+ years of relevant post-degree experience (OR) PhD with 2+ years of relevant post-degree experience.

Other Information
St. Jude is an Equal Opportunity Employer
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