Research Assistant (Computational Biology) (Fixed Term)

Applications are invited for a Research Assistant specialised in computational biology to join the group of Dr Matt Hoare within the Early Cancer Institute on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. This is an exciting opportunity to join an on-going collaboration between the Hoare lab at Cambridge and the newly established lab of Dr Sarah Aitken at Yale School of Medicine (USA), using genomics approaches to investigate liver cancer development and chronic liver disease. 

We wish to recruit a motivated individual to participate in data-driven projects which aim to characterise the role of acquired DNA alterations in normal and diseased livers, including in liver cancer. The successful applicant will primarily analyse human sequencing data generated by our group and collaborators.  In this post you will have the opportunity to develop your career, through cutting-edge research, interactions with great collaborators in the UK, Europe and the USA, and be placed on one of the largest biomedicine clusters in the UK. 

Applicants must have a degree in bioinformatics, computational biology, genetics, biological sciences or a related field. The ideal candidate will have strong programming experience (R, Python, bash); working knowledge in Linux/Unix environments; experience in the analysis of large datasets; and a solid understanding of statistics. In addition, the ability to analyse DNA-sequencing data is required; experience analysing RNA-sequencing data or other omics data is beneficial. The role holder must also have excellent communication skills with a proven track record of interacting effectively within interdisciplinary teams (biologists, medics, computer scientists, etc), and a willingness to become familiar with the biology of liver cancer and chronic liver disease. 

Prospective candidates are encouraged to contact Matt Hoare (mwh20@cam.ac.uk) or Sarah Aitken (sarah.aitken@yale.edu) directly when considering an application to discuss the project in greater detail. 

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 1 December 2026 in the first instance. 

To apply online for this vacancy and to view further information about the role, please click on the apply button above.

Please ensure that you upload a covering letter and CV in the Upload section of the online application. The covering letter should outline how you match the criteria for the post and why you are applying for this role. If you upload any additional documents which have not been requested, we will not be able to consider these as part of your application. 

Please include details of your referees, including email address and phone number, one of which must be your most recent line manager. 

Closing date: 31st March 2025. 

Interview date: to be confirmed. 

Please quote reference RD45206 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy. 

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society. 

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

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