Senior Bioinformatician – Soranzo Group

APPLICATION CLOSING DATE: June 6th 2023 The Human Technopole is looking for a Senior Bioinformatician for the Soranzo Group for the Centre for Genomics – Population and Medical Genomics Programme. Human Technopole (HT) is a new interdisciplinary research institute in Milan, Italy, created and supported by the Italian government whose aim is to develop innovative strategies to promote human health through a multidisciplinary and integrated approach, combining genomics, computational and structural biology, neuroscience, and data and decisions sciences. The Population and Medical Genomics Programme is part of the Genomics Research Centre, and will deploy large-scale genomic analyses to study the genetic basis of human traits and diseases. We are looking for an experienced Senior Bioinformatician to join the team of Professor Nicole Soranzo in the Population and Medical Genomics Programme. We seek experienced and highly motivated candidates who will integrate within the interdisciplinary research team, contributing to the analysis of large-scale genetic, genomic, and multi-omics datasets. The main tasks will include the analysis of data generated from CRISPR/Cas9 perturbation screenings at the single cell level, the use of cell barcoding information to perform lineage tracing, and performing the integration of the multi-modal data types (scRNA-seq and scATAC-seq). Therefore, a proficient understanding of biological concepts, readouts, and quality control checkpoints is highly desired as the position entails working at the interface with experimental team members. The ideal candidate also possesses strong expertise with the main scripting languages (R and Python) and the ability to develop and maintain a robust code set to support the development of state-of-the-art wet-lab techniques, including the implementation of new pipelines or the repurposing of pre-existing code. The candidate will also be responsible for liaising and working with HT’s statistical analysis and genomic analysis units to undertake an up-to-date statistical evaluation of the results. The candidate will benefit from a large High-Performance Computing and Data Storage infrastructure and close interaction with an expert community of computational biologists within the Genomics Centre, other Research Centres, and core facilities at HT. A key mission of the Senior Bioinformatician in the Soranzo Team will be to provide constant feedback to the wet lab team in a timely fashion, developing customized reports to support the optimization of laboratory procedures as part of troubleshooting. The candidate will be actively involved in this process, and his/her input will be highly valued for experimental design and troubleshooting. The successful candidate will report to the team leader (Professor Nicole Soranzo). Key tasks and responsibilities The Senior Bioinformaticianin the Soranzo group will be to: Operate the pipelines and statistical analysis tools to analyse multi-modal single-cell data within the HPC; Generate data reports to help the wet lab team in benchmarking new methods, and evaluating their feasibility and limitations; Produce interpretable graphical reports with key quality control and evaluation parameters to assess the experimental outcomes. Peruse the scientific literature for up-to-date knowledge of bioinformatics techniques and methods related to the experimentation. Operate and maintain the statistical analysis tools to analyse large genetic and omics datasets; Implement and run workflows to perform quality control on generated data; Provide effective visualizations of data for the assessment of the statistical analysis results, including automated reports; Constantly optimise computational workflows and maximise cost-effectiveness. Job requirements: Ph.D. or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject, e.g., biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, or computational biology/ bioinformatics; Proficient experience with either Python or R, ideally both; Experience in providing informative graphical representations of high-scale genomic data, especially single-cell data, and multi-modal datasets; Experience working on genomics datasets, especially single-cell data, and ideally also sequencing and genotyping data; Excellent code documentation and use of version control tools. (e.g., GitHub) Excellent computational skills and trouble-shooting; High-Performance Computing and Unix systems savvy; Fluency in English – HT is an international research institute. Preferential skills Experience with a workflow language like Snakemake or Nextflow is considered a plus; Experience working with SLURM scheduler is a plus; Experience with data dashboards and interactive data visualization (e.g., Shiny, Dash, or Flask). Organizational and social skills Ability to interact effectively with other teams and work synergistically to drive projects forward; Meticulous organization; Proven communication and problem-solving skills. Special consideration will be given to candidates who are part of the protected categories list, according to L. 68/99. Please apply sending: a CV, motivation letter in English and the contact of 2 referees. Additional information HT offers a highly collaborative, international culture to foster top quality, interdisciplinary research by promoting a vibrant environment consisting of independent research groups with access to outstanding graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and core facilities. HT is an inclusive employer that fosters diversity and engages systematically to ensure that equal employment opportunities are provided without regard to age, race, creed, religion, sex, disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national or ethnic origin or any other legally recognized status entitled to protection under applicable laws. HT is offering attractive conditions and benefits appropriate to a leading, internationally competitive, research organization that promotes a collegial and open atmosphere. The compensation package granted will be internationally competitive and comprise a pension scheme, medical and other social benefits and support for relocation and installation. Candidates coming to Italy for the first time, or returning after residing abroad, benefit from very attractive income tax benefits. Number of positions offered: 1 Contract offered : CCNL Chimico Farmaceutico – fixed-term contract 5 years- Employee level