1 Postdoctoral Fellow in Statistics in UK | Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

Job Description

Salary range: £29,388 to £36,840 per annum depending on experience plus excellent benefits

We are looking for a Postdoctoral Fellow to join Ele Zeggini’s team at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. The role involves investigating the association of complex traits of cardiometabolic relevance with genome-wide and exome-wide genotype and sequence data in large-scale datasets. The successful applicant will lead on the analysis of biomedical and genome-wide data from the Understanding Society longitudinal study (https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/). The Fellow will have opportunities to lead on the analysis of further projects in the group, which include whole genome sequence data in diverse population cohorts with rich phenotype information and functional genomics data, and to develop statistical genetics methodology for the powerful analysis of this next generation of studies.

The successful candidate will have a PhD in biological sciences, statistics, computer science or a related area. Previous experience in the field of large-scale complex trait genetic association studies is essential. The candidate must be able to work well as a team member and communicate well with external collaborators. S/he will have excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to prioritise tasks in order to work independently. We are looking for a candidate with a strong record of academic achievement. Good programming and statistical skills are essential. Excellent facilities are available and there is a strong commitment to career development.

Essential skills

• Experience in quantitative science or life sciences as evidenced by a postgraduate degree in a relevant subject (e.g. Statistics, Computing, Genetics);
• Research experience in linking genomic data with phenotypes of interest;
• Good scripting/programming skills;
• Firm grounding in statistical methods;
• Attention to detail and ability to work to tight timelines;
• Demonstrable good project management and organisational skills;
• Previous experience in working with large-scale datasets;
• English language well-written and fluently spoken;
• Ability to communicate effectively with collaborators both internally and externally;
• Track record in preparing publications and other written materials.

Ideal Skills

• Experience in working with longitudinal data;
• Experience in supervising junior members of the team;
• Experience in using and integrating information from bioinformatics resources.

Postdoctoral Fellows are typically in their first or second postdoctoral position as part of a period of early career research training. This is an up to three year fixed-term contract. Salary range is £29,338 to £36,840 per annum dependent on experience. Successful applicant(s) who have submitted their PhD thesis and are awaiting their PhD award to be confirmed will be placed on a transitional pay point, currently £27,000. On confirmation applicants will be moved on to the pay scale above.

When applying please submit a CV and a covering letter.

Closing date for applications: 29th January 2014

This position is available as a fixed term for 3 years