Senior Bioinformatics Analyst

The Department of Hematology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is seeking a highly motivated Senior Bioinformatics Analyst to join our research team focused on exploring the genetics of sickle cell disease. While sickle cell disease is a monogenic disorder, clinical outcomes vary across affected individuals, at least in part due to other genetic factors, many of which are yet to be discovered. The Senior Bioinformatics Analyst will have the opportunity to contribute to many projects aimed at elucidating the genetic etiology of sickle cell disease-related outcomes, including project conception, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. Specific responsibilities may include developing, evaluating, and/or implementing analytic, data visualization, and statistical approaches for genomics analyses. We are seeking candidates with expertise in identifying factors that modify disease risk or progression, treatment responsiveness, or survivorship. Candidates with a strong background in statistical genetics, genetic epidemiology, or bioinformatics are highly encouraged to apply for this position. Excellent communication skills are essential.

Our group is multidisciplinary, with collaborations across departments within St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, including the Center for Applied Bioinformatics and the Department of Biostatistics, allowing for cross-training and mentorship opportunities. As part of the Sickle Cell Clinical Research & Intervention Program, our group has access to rich longitudinal phenotypic data, and we have several ongoing and potential projects to examine the association between genetic variation and various clinical outcomes, including pain, renal function, and cognitive function. This position will also have access to state-of-the-art High Performance Computing systems. Additionally, there will be opportunity for collaboration with external scientists, as we are part of a multi-institutional effort to evaluate the genetics of sickle cell disease, including assessing germline genetic factors as well as characterizing the prevalence and consequence of clonal hematopoiesis (acquired somatic mutations) in individuals with sickle cell disease.

Job Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with scientists across and outside the institution to develop and test hypotheses regarding the genetic modifiers of sickle cell disease.
• Analyze genetic data with minimal supervision by performing advanced analysis, including quality control, data cleaning, statistical evaluation, and visualization.
• Conduct genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and downstream and related analyses including transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS).
• Assist with project reports, presentations to diverse groups, and manuscripts.
• Communicate findings clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Participate in the development and implementation of procedures to obtain new datasets.
• Stay current on literature and routinely evaluate and integrate new analytical tools.

• Analyze biomedical data with minimal supervision by performing advanced analysis, algorithm implementation, programming, and quality check.
• Assist senior analysts and scientists in the courses and training - with in-house training programs, user groups, seminars, documentation, and newsletters.
• Evaluate and integrate products, solutions, tools, and web-based applications.
• Assist in the development, implementation, and maintenance of relevant databases or data warehouse.
• Develop prototypes for cloud portals and visualization tools; programs for the analysis of data within databases.
• Develop web services to query the database.
• Communicate with project managers on design and implementation of analytical processes, project progress, and results.
• Perform other duties as assigned to meet the goals and objectives of the department and institution.
• Maintains regular and predictable attendance.

Minimum Education and/or Training:

• Bachelor's degree in bioinformatics, cheminformatics, statistics/computer science (with a background in biological sciences or chemistry) or related field.
• Master's degree preferred.

Minimum Experience:

• Minimum Requirement: 4+ years of relevant experience required.
• Experience Exception: Master's degree and 1+ years of relevant experience.
• Experience in at least one programming or scripting language and at least one statistical package, with R preferred.

Compensation

In recognition of certain U.S. state and municipal pay transparency laws, St. Jude is including a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This is an estimate offered in good faith and a specific salary offer takes into account factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the salary range and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current salary range is $78,000 - $139,360 per year for the role of Senior Bioinformatics Analyst.

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