Postdoctoral Researchers in Applied Statistical Bioinformatics

• Salary Package: Level A from $81,581 to $109,852 per annum, plus 17% superannuation and annual leave loading
• Appointment Type: Full time, 2 years fixed term with the possibility to extend for 1 year (funding dependent)
• Macquarie University (Wallumattagal Campus, North Ryde)

The Role

The Macquarie University Precision Cancer Therapy Research group is seeking to appoint a highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellow or Research Associate to undertake statistical and bioinformatics research. The successful candidate will perform independent research, as well as providing research support, for cancer biomarker and next generation sequencing liquid biopsy sequencing projects.

About You

You will hold a doctorate, or will shortly be satisfying the requirements of a PhD in statistical bioinformatics, computational bioinformatics, applied statistics, computer science, data science and computational biology, or another relevant field. You will have well-developed research skills including record keeping, preparation of research papers, presenting at seminars, and work effectively within a multidisciplinary research team. Technically, you are competent in processing or performing initial data analysis on a recent platform of omics data such as next generation sequencing or mass spectrometry and you are competent in computer programming or software development skills in at least two computational languages, including in R. Your strong organisation skills, administrative skills and attention to detail will aid you in this role, as will your strong communication skills.

About Us

The Precision Cancer Therapy Research group is a multidisciplinary research team dedicated to cancer research, with a focus on melanoma and lung cancer research. Our research investigates mechanisms of treatment response and resistance, and prognostic and predictive markers. The work spans fundamental and translational projects and includes animal, tissue and cellular models of cancer, genetics, transcriptome analysis and liquid biopsy research.

Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences (FMHHS) is ambitiously pushing the boundaries of progressive thinking and challenging what’s possible to solve some of the big issues of our time, both nationally and on a global scale.

The Faculty’s current education suite includes courses in clinical science, physiotherapy, medicine and public health, psychology, cognitive sciences, linguistics, audiology, and speech pathology. The Faculty forms part of MQ Health, an integrated academic health sciences enterprise which incorporates Macquarie University Hospital and primary and speciality clinics. We have active research programs in neurosciences, health systems and patient safety research, cancer medicine, and clinical sciences, amongst others.

We foster a values-based culture of innovation and creativity to achieve excellence in teaching and to enhance the research performance of the University. We invest in developing the careers and well-being of our students and staff and expect all our leaders to live our values of Caring, Integrity, Teamwork, Ambition, Innovation, and Engagement.

Macquarie is a university engaged with the real and often complex problems and opportunities that define our lives. Since our foundation 54 years ago, we have aspired to be a different type of university. Over the years, we’ve grown to become the centre of a vibrant local and global community. Connect with us today.

To Apply

To be considered for this position, please apply online by submitting your CV and a separate (2-3 page maximum) cover letter that demonstrates how you meet the following selection criteria:

Essential

• A PhD in a relevant discipline area such as statistical bioinformatics, computational bioinformatics, applied statistics, computer science, data science and computational biology with research strength in at least two of these areas.
• Demonstrated experience in research record keeping, preparation of research papers and seminars.
• Proven experience with low level processing or performing initial data analysis on a recent platforms of omics data such as next generation sequencing or mass spectrometry.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct research / scholarly activities under limited supervision and as part of a multidisciplinary research team.
• Evidence of superior computer programming or software development skills in at least two computational languages, including in R
• Evidence of well-developed written and verbal communication skills, for example, publications in academic environments such as scientific journals/conference presentation

Desirable

• Published peer-reviewed research in international journals or proceedings as sole author or in collaboration.
• Experience with WGS data or statistical genetics.
• Ability to assist researchers from other disciplines as well as work with PhD students within the Precision Cancer Therapy research group.
• Comprehensive experience of common online bioinformatics software and databases such as PRIDE, UniProt, GenBank or BLAST etc.
• Strong general IT skills, including familiarity with Linux/Unix environments and HPC server.
• Preference to experience in analysing high-dimensional regression models and variable selection.

You will also be asked to demonstrate the ability to develop R shiny application or R markdown analysis as part of the application process.

Specific Role Enquiries: Professor Helen Rizos at helen.rizos@mq.edu.au

General Enquiries: Alyssa Hayes, HR Consultant at Alyssa.hayes@mq.edu.au

Applications Close: Sunday 22nd October 2023 time at 11:55pm

Macquarie University is committed to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. We value individual difference and recognise the strength of a vibrant, diverse and inclusive workforce where the backgrounds, perspectives and experiences of our staff are a driving force for collaboration, innovation and impact.

We work to ensure genuine equality of opportunity for people regardless of their gender, age, cultural background, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and/or family status, and we encourage you to apply for a position at Macquarie University.