Bioinformatics Technician I - Young Lab

RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND GOALS

The Young Lab is studying gene regulation in health and disease. Gene regulatory elements play key roles in establishing and maintaining healthy cells, and most genetic variation that predisposes humans to disease occurs in these regulatory elements. There is an important gap in our understanding of these regulatory elements and how genetic variation in these elements contributes to disease. This gap is our lack of knowledge about the protein factors, called transcription factors, that occupy the DNA regulatory elements. We have developed new approaches to identify these regulatory element transcription factors and explore their functions in gene regulation, genome architecture and disease mechanisms. Thus, our goals are to learn how regulatory elements control key genes in normal human cells and how sequence variation leads to disease. 

OVERALL RESPONSIBILITY

Collaborate on short- and long-term independent scientific projects to support the research objectives of the lab. Utilize programming skills to design and develop computational tools for biological data analyses. Analyze experimental data and address methodological problems in results. Use discretion in prioritizing and organizing workflow and in optimizing methodologies and results.

CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES

• Work closely with collaborators on various research projects to enable combined experimental and computational workflows
• Develop and apply algorithms for analysis of diverse biological data related to various projects
• Integrate multiple types of data and analytical methods in creative ways to exploit genomic information
• Document workflows and visualization of data using appropriate tools

QUALIFICATIONS

• BSc or MSc or equivalent in Computational Biology, Genome Science, Bioinformatics, or Computer Science disciplines with emphasis on biology
• 0-3 years of experience in interdisciplinary collaborations at the interface of data science and life sciences
• Ability to communicate clearly with both computational and experimental collaborators
• Capable of prioritizing day-to-day tasks with team’s broader aims and goals
• Proven experience in programming (proficiency of at least two programming languages i.e. Python, R, Bash, Matlab) and experience with UNIX OS
• (Preferred) Experience with next generation sequencing data analysis, biological image analysis, and college or graduate-level statistics
• Works well independently and demonstrates proficient problem-solving competency