Postdoctoral Fellow in Pathogen Genomics

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

Ref: 80956
Salary range £28,280 to £34,778 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 dynamic postdoctoral scientist using genomics to study a major human pathogen in the context of high disease burden across Africa. The successful candidate will be primarily based at the Sanger Institute with regular visits to collaborative sites in several African countries and will be active in data analysis/interpretation and building bioinformatic analysis capacity at the African sites.

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 Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Bioinformatics or related field
• Proven knowledge of current phylogenetic and evolutionary concepts
• Processing and analysis of large, genomic and epidemiologic datasets
• Experience of relevant programming languages such as PERL, PYTHON, Java
• Very strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Experience of training and supervising students and other team members
• Strong publication record

Ideal Skills
Expertise in coordination of multi-partner projects concerning genetic and epidemiologic analysis of bacterial pathogens.

Other information
Postdoctoral Fellows are typically in their first or second postdoctoral position as part of a period of early career research training. This position is initially for a fixed term until 31 December 2013.

Successful applicant(s) who have submitted their PhD thesis and are awaiting their PhD award to be confirmed will be placed on a transitional pay point, currently £26,103. On confirmation applicants will be moved on to the pay scale above.

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.