Bioinformaticist - McDonnell Genome Institute

Washington University in St Louis • Forest Park, GA

9d • Onsite

About The Position

We are assembling a team of Computational Biologists to answer important questions about neurodegeneration, organelle biology, and context-dependent gene function. The team will mine data generated by the McDonnell Genome Institute (MGI) as well as publicly available datasets to generate mechanistic insights into the biology of disease to find new therapeutic candidates. This is a joint position shared between the MGI, and the Mitra and Milbrandt labs. We seek a bioinformatician to design and conduct the aforementioned project. The successful applicant will have substantial Computational Biology experience, and sharp attention to detail is a must. This position offers superb opportunities for continued scientific learning and continued career development including authorship. The successful applicant will hold the title of Bioinformaticist. The MGI, Mitra, and Milbrandt Labs provide a collaborative, highly productive, well-funded and supportive scientific work environment. Our location is in the recently renovated space in Couch Biomedical Research Building and Fort Neuroscience Research Building. Candidates are expected to work in person in a flexible and challenging academic environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree
• Research (4 Years)
• Proficiency in scientific programming languages (e.g., Python, R, Perl, Java), in a UNIX/Linux and/or Windows environment and have a working knowledge of high-performance compute clusters.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree or Doctor of Philosophy in computer science or related field.
• Experience with machine learning /AI methods.
• Dedicated, highly motivated individual with attention to detail , excellent organizational skills, analytical, reasoning, and problem-solving skills.
• Good understanding of computational biology , probabilistic models , statistics, machine learning , and discrete mathematics.
• Ability to adapt and change as new computational techniques emerge.
• Ability to maintain complete, detailed, well-organized Jupyter notebooks.
• Expertise in standard bioinformatics tools.

Responsibilities

• Design and perform analysis of in house and public datasets to answer questions about neurodegeneration, organelle biology, and context-dependent gene function.
• Pursue independent research projects, including developing hypotheses that can be experimentally tested and work with our teams to design such experiments.
• Investigate new computational methods when needed to answer novel biological questions.
• Produce well documented code and electronic notebooks
• Research and recommend new algorithms and statistical approaches.
• Train other researchers on the everyday use of analysis software and research databases.
• Assist with reporting of methods, data, and results.
• Periodically present work at group meetings.

Benefits

• Up to 22 days of vacation, 10 recognized holidays, and sick time.
• Competitive health insurance packages with priority appointments and lower copays/coinsurance.
• Free Metro transit U-Pass for eligible employees.
• Defined contribution (403(b)) Retirement Savings Plan, which combines employee contributions and university contributions starting at 7%.
• Wellness challenges, annual health screenings, mental health resources, mindfulness programs and courses, employee assistance program (EAP), financial resources, access to dietitians, and more!
• 4 weeks of caregiver leave to bond with your new child.
• Family care resources are also available for your continued childcare needs.
• Adult care resources.
• Tuition for you and your family, including dependent undergraduate-level college tuition up to 100% at WashU and 40% elsewhere after seven years with us.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level