Senior Bioinformatician in Pathogen Genomics

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

Ref: 80955
Salary range £27,316 to £37,690 dependent on experience.
Closing Date: 5th September 2011

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is a world leader in genomic research, with an expanding scientific programme dedicated to understanding gene function in health & disease.

We have an exciting new role available for a talented bioinformatician/programmer engaged in an important genomic study of a major human pathogen in the context of high disease burden across Africa. The successful candidate will be part of a dynamic team at the Sanger Institute and will interact with collaborators in several African countries. Responsibilities will include software development for intuitive analysis and visualisation of genome sequences and associated metadata.

The post is funded through a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation consortium project focused on genomics of serotype 1 Streptococcus pneumoniae, a major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout sub-Saharan Africa which exhibits a strong association with invasive disease and may occur in outbreaks or epidemics. The scientific aim of the project is to create a better understanding of the evolution of this distinct, region-specific clone in order to inform the development of clinical interventions, particularly vaccines. The project also targets capacity building for bioinformatic expertise across the consortium.

Essential Skills
The successful candidate will have the following knowledge, experience and skills:

• PhD in bioinformatics or computer science (or equivalent industry experience)
• Significant demonstrable experience in bioinformatics
• Evidence of proficiency in computer program design and implementation in a modern programming language (e.g. Perl, Java, Python etc.)
• Proven experience of designing and developing web based applications for support of scientific projects
• Experience of dealing with large data sets and running software on a compute farm
• Knowledge and experience of UNIX / LINUX on an advanced level
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Experience of training and supervising other team members

Ideal Skills
Expertise in design, creation and validation of intuitive software for visualisation and analysis of biological datasets. Experience with processing next-generation sequencing data would be an asset but is not essential.

Other information
This position is initially for a fixed term of 2 years. For further information please contact pathrecru@sanger.ac.uk.

Benefits
The Institute has excellent purpose built facilities on the Genome Campus, Hinxton on the outskirts of Cambridge. We offer a comprehensive range of benefits including a final salary pension scheme and excellent on-site facilities. Further details can be found on our website https://jobs.sanger.ac.uk,

To submit your CV and apply for this job please go to https://jobs.sanger.ac.uk, to register and apply on line.