Senior Bioinformatician

Duration: Fixed term until 31 August 2028

About the role:

We are looking for a motivated and talented Computational Biologist to join the Bioinformatics and Biostatistics (BBS) Team within the CRUK National Biomarker Centre (NBC). The NBC’s mission is to develop, validate, and implement biomarkers that optimise cancer patient treatment, with a focus on minimally invasive biomarkers, or liquid biopsies. Advanced computational biology and data analysis are essential to this mission.

In this role, you will work on a project, as part of an international collaboration, developing a multi-modal liquid biopsy test for the early detection of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Modalities to be explored include methylation signatures and fragmentation patterns in cell-free DNA (cfDNA), mutational signatures in cfDNA, along with enumeration of circulating tumour cells (CTCs).

Working alongside a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, biologists, engineers, and computational scientists, you will be responsible for computational data analysis of next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based methylation and fragmentomics data arising from cell-free DNA (cfDNA) samples. Additionally, you will be responsible for developing and applying machine learning approaches for integrating the methylation and fragmentomics features together with cfDNA mutational signatures and CTC outputs into a multi-modal classifier for NSCLC early detection. The project is uniquely designed to utilise banked and ongoing blood sample collections from LDCT screening programmes in Greater Manchester and Leeds with comprehensive clinical follow-up.

The project will be overseen by BBS and Nucleic Acids Biomarkers (NAB) team leads and deputy team leads as well as the NBC Director and Deputy Director. You will benefit from state-of-the-art facilities at the NBC and the closely aligned CRUK Manchester Institute, including access to a high-performance computing facility.

About you:

You will have a Degree in Computational Biology/Bioinformatics or related discipline (or equivalent relevant experience) plus significant data analysis experience. Alternatively, you will have a postgraduate degree related to cancer biology with demonstrable data analysis experience.

You will have relevant experience in data analysis (preferably with R and/or Python), have a grasp of standard bioinformatics approaches used to analyse NGS data and be able to work comfortably on the Linux command line. You will also have some familiarity with machine learning approaches. An understanding of liquid biopsies, cancer genomics, cancer biology and early detection research is desirable, as is an understanding of bioinformatics workflow management systems (e.g. Nextflow).

You will have excellent communication skills and the ability to converse successfully with interdisciplinary collaborators. Experience of multidisciplinary teamwork would be beneficial.

Why choose Cancer Research UK National Biomarker Centre?

The Cancer Research UK National Biomarker Centre (https://cruknbc.org/) is a leading and highly specialised translational research centre within The University of Manchester (www.manchester.ac.uk), aligned with the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute (www.cruk.manchester.ac.uk), and core-funded by Cancer Research UK (www.cancerresearchuk.org), the largest independent cancer research organisation in the world.

How to apply?

Informal enquiries should be directed to Dr. Vsevolod Makeev, Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Team Lead: vsevolod.makeev@cruk.manchester.ac.uk

Please note this vacancy will close for applications at 11:59pm on the closing date specified.

Closing date: Sunday 19 January 2025

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