Job Summary The Gut4Health initiative aims to establish the first microbiome profiling core at the BC Children's Hospital. The core will work with local clinicians and researchers to understand the gut microbiome composition and function of pediatric patients, to help predict, prevent and treat diseases such as asthma, inflammatory bowel disease and C. difficile infections. The goals of the core include supporting local microbiome-based studies and aiding in the development of new and safe microbiome-based therapies. Funding for the Gut4Health initiative derives from the generous donations of the mining community through the Mining for Miracles Program. We are looking for a talented, highly motivated candidate with a strong background in microbial ecology analysis, metagenomics, computational biology, and bioinformatics to join our team. The successful candidate will contribute to the analysis of data sets derived from clinical and experimental samples from BC Children's patient population. These analyses will further our understanding of the gut microbiome and its role in diverse diseases. A thorough understanding of analysis algorithms and methods to integrate biological and medical datasets is essential. It is expected that the successful candidate will master specific technical skills underlying modern computational biology and data science frameworks, and be sufficiently skilled to independently perform such work and instruct others as well. The successful candidate will work closely with an interdisciplinary team to tackle cutting-edge challenges in microbiome science, leveraging diverse data modalities to explore the microbiome and host-microbiome-environment interactions. Organizational Status The successful candidate will primarily work together with local researchers from the BC Children's Hospital Research (BCCHR) institute. External interactions will be at the local, national, and international levels with other departments, research organizations, community organizations, university, and research institute personnel. The candidate will report to the Project Manager of the Gut4Health project. Work Performed -Perform simple to complex bioinformatics analysis and requests independently. -Research and implement bioinformatics solution as requested. -Collaborate with developers to develop, test and automate bioinformatics solutions. -Handle bioinformatics data retrieval, processing and dissemination requests. -Assist researchers in computational, statistical and visualization tasks for publication. Supervision Received The successful candidate will be scientifically independent; must be able to steer projects towards a meaningful experimental design and will function as the local expert in statistical analysis of bioinformatics. Independently manage their own workload; take responsibility for his or her own performance and accept full ownership of issues, problems, and opportunities, regardless of the source. Will receive research IT support from the BCCHR institute. Supervision Given N/A Consequence of Error/Judgement Accuracy, timeliness, and sound judgment are required to maximize effectiveness of the research program. Errors in judgment would result in a decrease in productivity of the research program, and might lead to concerns about research credibility. Qualifications Post-graduate degree in Statistics. Completed a Ph.D. in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics or related field preferred. Minimum of two years experience in research analysis or the equivalent combination of education and experience. * -Demonstrated ability to design, process, and integrate multiple types of 'omics data (DNA-seq, RNA-Seq, and metabolomics) to derive biological insights. -Successful track record processing and analyzing multi-dimensional human microbiome data (metagenomic, 16S rRNA, and metabolomics). -Demonstrated ability to conduct and perform collaborative research and effectively interact and communicate with a broad range of colleagues. -Excellent organizational, analytical, and record-keeping skills with the ability to organize and present technical reports to collaborators, management, and sponsors. -Has a reasonable understanding of a range of disease and therapeutic areas including pulmonary, gastroenterology, immunology, rare diseases and oncology. -Proficiency in a relevant programming language such as Python or R. -Strong UNIX/LINUX expertise. -Familiarity with microbiome and genomic data analysis tools such as QIIME2, BLAST, bwa, bowtie -Provide efficient data management support. -Provide collaboration-specific transparency for data processing and pre-analysis, including sample- and cohort-level status. -Foundational understanding of common methodologies employed in 'omics data analysis and has significant experience with the computational analysis of microbiome-focused NGS data analysis and data visualization. -Has demonstrated the ability to work effectively in a closely integrated interdisciplinary team and derive actionable biological conclusions from multi-dimensional 'omics data sets, is able to communicate with scientists who are not familiar with bioinformatics. -Has a reasonable understanding of the information technology infrastructure. -Demonstrates ability to accurately and eloquently represent and promote scientific projects to audiences of diverse technical backgrounds. -Keeps current with emerging trends in computational biology, statistical genetics and genomics analysis and record keeping. All positions in the Department of Pediatrics at BC Children's Hospital require a Criminal Record Check (CRC). A pre-employment CRC is required as part of the recruitment process and any offer of employment is contingent pending positive results of the CRC. . Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
