Research Associate

(Fixed Term)

Salary: £28,132-£36,661

Reference: SW03164

Closing date: 09 May 2014

Applications are invited for a postdoctoral research associate position to work with Professor Simon Tavaré FRS and other members of the Statistics and Computational Biology Laboratory at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. The position is to support an exciting whole-genome sequencing project funded by the CRUK Oesophageal International Cancer Genome Consortium Study led by Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald from the MRC Cancer Cell Unit, and is available for two years in the first instance.

The aim of the project is to understand the genetic architecture, history and clinical relevance of mutations in Oesophageal adenocarcinoma by exploiting whole genome Illumina sequencing of 500 tumour samples and matched germ line reference as well as other relevant samples. We are also generating genome-wide data on CpG methylation and transcript abundance, using both array and sequencing technologies.

The position will focus on the integration of our genomic, transcriptomic and methylation data with clinical information. There are opportunities to generate further data in support of this Project through the collaboration with the Fitzgerald lab. There are also opportunities for collaboration with other bioinformatics and statistics researchers in the area.

Applicants should have a PhD in statistics, bioinformatics or similar field, have experience of data analysis, and strong programming skills (one or more of R, Perl, C++ and Java being desirable). Experience with next generation sequence analysis and cancer biology would be an advantage. The successful candidate will require excellent communication skills, the ability to work as part of a team of researchers exploiting our in-house quality control and analysis pipelines to understand the genomic structure of oesophageal adenocarcinoma. Evidence of independence and of the ability to develop novel statistical or bioinformatical methods is essential.

Contact Professor Simon Tavaré (simon.tavare@cruk.cam.ac.uk) or Dr. Andy Lynch (andy.lynch@cruk.cam.ac.uk) for further information. Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald (rcf29@hutchisonmrc.cam.ac.uk) would be happy to take queries about the role of this post within the overall project.

To apply online for this vacancy and to view further information about the role, please visit:

http://www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/3706.

This will take you to the role on the University’s Job Opportunities pages. There you will need to click on the 'Apply online' button and register an account with the University's Web Recruitment System (if you have not already) and log in before completing the online application form.

Please ensure that you upload a covering letter and CV in the Upload section of the online application. If you upload any additional documents which have not been requested, we will not be able to consider these as part of your application.

Please quote reference SW03164 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University values diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.