Bioinformatics Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Posted on by Marcel
Job ID: 607747
Job date: 2017-03-07
End Date:

Company : Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) 

Country :

Role : Postdoc 


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Job Description:
Job Title: Bioinformatics Postdoctoral Research Fellow Closing Date of vacancy: 6 April 2017
Division: Molecular Pathology
Team: Treatment Resistance
Type of Contract: Fixed Term
Length of Contract: 3 years
Salary Range: £29,960 to £42,820 p.a. inclusive (full salary scale)
Work Location: Sutton (Surrey) Hours per week: 35

The Institute of Cancer Research, London, is one of the world’s most influential cancer research institutes, with an outstanding record of achievement dating back more than 100 years. We provided the first convincing evidence that DNA damage is the basic cause of cancer, laying the foundation for the now universally accepted idea that cancer is a genetic disease. Today, The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) leads the world at isolating cancer-related genes and discovering new targeted drugs for personalised cancer treatment. Under the leadership of our Chief Executive, Professor Paul Workman FMedSci, the ICR is ranked as the UK’s leading academic research centre. Together with our partner The Royal Marsden, we are rated in the top four cancer centres globally. The ICR is committed to attracting, developing and retaining the best minds in the world to join us in our mission – to make the discoveries that defeat cancer. For more information please visit http://www.icr.ac.uk.

We are seeking a highly motivated and talented Postdoctoral Training Research Fellow with bioinformatics expertise to join the Treatment Resistance Team led by Dr Gert Attard within the Centre for Evolution and Cancer (CEC). The project will focus on using novel approaches to interpret next-generation sequencing data obtained from sequential circulating cell-free DNA samples and tumours from patients with clinically-relevant prostate cancer cohorts with carefully annotated clinical follow-up data. We aim to accelerate the implementation of discoveries into clinical practice in order improve the outcomes of advanced cancer patients. The successful candidate will work in a multidisciplinary team and be responsible for the analysis and interpretation of next generation sequencing data, both to identify genomic aberrations (e.g. single nucleotide variants, indels, copy numbers, etc) and epigenomic changes. The post holder will be positioned within and collaborate with the Bioinformatics Core headed by Dr Stefano Lise and in addition to working with biologists in the Treatment Resistance Team, will interact closely and be supported by the CEC computational biologists.

Applicants should have a PhD in bioinformatics or another related or quantitative discipline. Applicants must have demonstrable research experience in bioinformatics and excellent programming and scripting skills (e.g. Python, Perl, etc). Experience of working in a Linux/UNIX environment and scripting is also required and experience in the analysis of next-generation sequencing data would be advantageous. Excellent organisational and communication skills are essential.

The position is offered on a fixed term 3 years contract. The full salary scale for this post is in the range from £29,960 to £42,820 p.a. inclusive. Starting salary will be based on previous postdoctoral experience. The position will be based in Sutton.

Informal enquiries about these posts (including arrangements to visit the ICR/Centre for Cancer and Evolution) are welcome and may be directed by email to Dr Gert Attard (gert.attard@icr.ac.uk) or Dr Stefano Lise (stefano.lise@icr.ac.uk).

To apply please submit your CV and covering letter (addressing with specific examples where you meet the person specification, and incl. the names and addresses of two referees) online.

Positive Action Statement: We consider all applications on merit and have a strong commitment to enhancing the diversity of our staff. …

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Additional Info:
The Centre for Evolution and Cancer (CEC) within the ICR was established to study cancer through the evolutionary principles of natural selection. By using state-of-the-art cellular, genomic and bioinformatics technologies, we investigate the clonal architecture and evolution in tumours with the goal of developing novel evolutionary biomarkers that could predict progression of disease, metastases or the emergence of drug resistance. The Centre currently comprises six teams with a strong international track record in applying the principles of evolutionary biology to cancer and a bioinformatics research core with expertise in computational genomics and in the analysis of next-generation sequencing data. For more information about the Centre for Evolution and Cancer please visit http://www.icr.ac.uk/Media/centres-and-initiatives/cec-prospectus.pdf?sfvrsn=8 The Treatment Resistance Team led by Dr Gert Attard focuses on studying treatment resistance in advanced urological cancers and has been integrating circulating cell-free DNA and single-cell technologies with functional studies to track tumour clone dynamics in patients progressing through multiple lines of treatment. Some of the group’s recent work, together with collaborators in Italy, used plasma DNA to track androgen receptor (AR) gene aberrations in advanced prostate cancer patients and identified a strong association between plasma AR aberrations and resistance to second-line hormonal treatments (http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/7/312/312re10, http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/6/254/254ra125). These data have led to the prospective evaluation of plasma DNA in clinical trials designed to improve the management of advanced prostate cancer patients. We are now also expanding this strategy for the discovery of novel drivers of resistance in multiple cancer types. The group receives support from Cancer Research UK, Prostate Cancer UK, The Medical Research Council, The European Union, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and others.

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