Research Scientist (Bioinformatics/Genomic Epidemiology)

Applications Close: 27 February 2019

Salary: £31,250 - £38,100 depending on qualifications and experience

Contract Length: Full time until 30th September 2020

Applications are invited for a Research Scientist to join the Laboratory of Dr Alison Mather in the Microbes in the Food Chain Programme at the Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB), based in Norwich, UK.

Quadram Institute Bioscience:

QIB provides a vibrant and exciting setting composed of multiple research teams working on microbial genomics, molecular epidemiology, microbial communities and food science. We offer the chance to work with world leading, cutting edge technologies both in IT and computational biology and give you the opportunity to broaden your skills using open source technologies within a bioinformatics context. You will gain experience of working with Big Data, cloud computing, and have the opportunity to publish excellent science in leading peer-reviewed journals.

Background:

The post holder will join a project funded by the Medical Research Council through a Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance international consortium project aiming to understand the transmission of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at the genome, bacterium, national and international levels. This research is highly topical and relevant to both human and animal health. The work will be conducted within a One Health framework, consistent with research recommended by several international policy reviews, including the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organisation for Animal Health, and the World Health Organization.

The focus of the research is on extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC) resistance in Enterobacteriaceae, including extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs), comparing bacteria, host populations (humans and domestic animals) and countries. Collaborators on this project are from Canada, France, Germany and the UK.

The role:

The post holder will analyse a dataset of >2,500 sequenced bacterial genomes. These genomic data, along with the associated epidemiological metadata, provides an incredible opportunity to address key questions in this field, including the relative importance of animals to the burden of AMR in humans.

The post holder will also contribute to the preparation of written reports and research publications and present research findings at project meetings, scientific conferences and outreach/translation events. They will contribute to the smooth running of the group, including the effective use of resources, supervision of visitors to the laboratory and assisting with training others, encouraging scientific excellence.

The ideal candidate:

Applicants will have an MSc or PhD in bioinformatics, computational biology or a related quantitative discipline, and experience working with large collections of next generation sequencing data. The candidate must value teamwork and collaboration, be able to work independently, and have excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Additional information:

Salary on appointment will be within the range £31,250 to £38,100 per annum depending on qualifications and experience.  This is a full time post until 30th September 2020.

Further information and details of how to apply can be found here, or contact the Human Resources team on 01603 450462 or nbi.recruitment@nbi.ac.uk  quoting reference 1003595.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sectors of society.  The Institute supports equality of opportunity within the workplace and expects all employees to share and display these values.  To support our commitment, we have a range of family, faith and diversity friendly working arrangements to help all staff achieve excellence in their area of work.

As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to offer an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for this vacancy.

The closing date for applications will be 27 February 2019.

The Quadram Institute Bioscience is a registered charity (No. 1058499) and is an Equal Opportunities Employer.

Apply