Bioinformatician - Bacterial Genomics - Cambridge, United Kingdom - Wellcome Sanger Institute

Wellcome Sanger Institute

Verified Company

Cambridge, United Kingdom

2 weeks ago

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

beBee Recruiter

Description

Do you want to help us improve human health and understand life on Earth? Make your mark by shaping the future to enable or deliver life-changing science to solve some of humanity's greatest challenges.

About the Role:

Would you like to help improve pneumococcal vaccine effectiveness? We have an exciting opportunity for a Bioinformatician, who is passionate about improving vaccine design and excited about the goals of our institute, to join the team led by Prof Stephen Bentley.

About Us:

Despite the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) being globally deployed with a high uptake rate, some serotypes targeted by PCV are still causing disease - vaccine failure.

It is known that there is high genetic diversity within each serotype, however, vaccine protection against each variant within a serotype is unknown.

Recent evidence from the Genomics of Pneumonia, Meningitis and Neonatal Sepsis Team and others showed that PCV-induced immunity has heterotypic effects against genetic variants within a single vaccine serotype; the inferior protection against some genetic variants could result in vaccine failure.

Harnessing the data generated from the GPS project, we aim to develop a new scalable and portable software to appreciate the genetic landscape of pneumococcal capsule - vaccine target.

As a Bioinformatician in the Bentley team, you will join a dynamic and collaborative multi-disciplinary team with expertise in pathogen genomics for research and laboratory microbiology.

The team has particular interest in the microorganisms and pathogens that infect and colonise the upper respiratory tract.

As a member of the team, you will play a key role in the successful delivery of project goals by generating new understanding of pneumococcal capsule and summarising these findings as an interactive visualisation on project website.

The Bentley team will provide you with opportunities to develop your skills and career through a series of training provided by Sanger and mentorship in the team.

About You:

As a member of the team, you will join a team engaged in generating, processing, analysing and interpreting genomic data at scale and establishing capabilities for large-scale genomic surveillance of bacterial pathogens.

You will be passionate about science and motivated to make an impact on generating knowledge on the evolution of known respiratory pathogens.

You will gain strong experience in bioinformatics and connect with like-minded scientists.

Technical Skills (for Grade2):

PhD qualification or equivalent working experience in bioinformatics or in software development/engineering
Ability to design, perform and interpret statistical analysis
Proficiency in a scripting language (e.g. Python, Javascript, React)

Technical Skills (for Grade3):

BSc in bioinformatics or in software development/engineering
Experience in using UNIX command line

Competencies and Behaviours:

Ability to work independently and as part of a team
Excellent communication skills, ability to interact with a multidisciplinary team to develop and maintain good working relationships
A good problem solver
Attention to detail
Keen to learn and share scientific ideas

Other Information

Application Process:

Closing Date:15th June 2023

Salary range per annum:
£35,850 - £50,000 (grade 2 or grade 3 dependant on skills and experience)

Contract Length:12 months

Working at Wellcome Sanger:

Our flexible-hybrid working environment is designed to support a healthy work-life balance.

This means you can work flexibly with a combination of working from home, and working from our Campus to allow you to focus on being productive and part of the team while enjoying the benefits of working flexibly.

We aim to attract, recruit, retain and develop talent from the widest possible talent pool, thereby gaining insight and access to different markets to generate a greater impact on the world.

We have a supportive culture with the following staff networks, LGBTQ+, Parents and Carers and Race Equity to bring people together to share experiences, offer specific support and development opportunities and raise awareness.

The networks are also a place for allies to provide support to others.

We want our people to be whoever they want to be because we believe people who bring their best selves to work, do their best work.

That's why we're committed to creating a truly inclusive culture at Sanger Institute.

We will consider all individuals without discrimination and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, where everyone can thrive.

Our Benefits:

We are proud to deliver an awarding campus-wide employee wellbeing strategy and programme.

The importance of good health and adopting a healthier lifestyle and the commitment to reduce work-related stress is strongly acknowledged and recognised at Sanger Institute.