The Integrative Omics research group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory seeks a Scientist III in metabolomics-focused cheminformatics/bioinformatics to support and expand its mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and lipidomics capabilities. The Integrative Omics group develops and applies new separations (e.g. traditional chromatographic and cutting edge ion mobility approaches) and mass spectrometry-based omics technologies and methods for quantifying proteins/peptides, metabolites, and lipids in studies of health and disease, the environment, and general systems biology.
Metabolomics is rapidly growing in terms of new applications and funding opportunities. However, the ease with which it is possible to detect and quantify hundreds to thousands of metabolite features in mass spectrometry-based metabolomics/lipidomics analyses is offset by the lack of novel tools and approaches for rapid and unambiguous structural identification of the majority of detected ionized molecules and molecular adducts. The successful candidate will be expected to have developed novel methods for identifying metabolites and lipids from tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) data, and to integrate these methods in collaboration with other efforts that utilize molecular collisional cross section data from gas phase separations – primarily ion mobility spectrometry and structures for lossless ion manipulations (SLIM) – and accurate mass and isotopic distribution data. Additional responsibilities include the development of infrastructure for identifying metabolites based on tandem mass spectra by querying against available public databases (e.g. Mass Bank, GNPS, MoNa). The successful candidate must have experience in relating chemical structures to mass spectrometry data, a proven track record in developing methods for metabolite identification using tandem mass spectrometry data, and bring outstanding perspective and passion that will contribute to the overall efforts of the Integrative Omics group in establishing a leading metabolomics capability. The successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to and lead the preparation of research proposals.
• PhD in Cheminformatics, Computational Chemistry, or related field with an emphasis on metabolomics data analysis, particularly primary metabolite/lipid identification using spectral data.
• Experience with quantitative structure-activity relationship models and programming in Python, C#, C++ or R are a plus.
• The ideal candidate will demonstrate an interest in shifting the paradigm of metabolomics research by contributing to the development of advanced, multi-analytical methods for unambiguously identifying metabolites and other chemicals in complex mixtures without reliance on data from analysis of authentic reference compounds.
• The qualified applicant must have experience with encoding chemical structures (e.g. International Chemical Identifiers (InChIs)), chemical database mining, and information extraction/retrieval.
• The ideal candidate will have a strong publication record and have the potential and interest to further develop strong leadership qualities; s/he will also have opportunities to contribute to the mentoring and development of junior scientific staff.
• The candidate will have the opportunity to participate in setting the national and/or international research agenda and will have obtained recognition via publications, awards, citations, or other honors.
• Excellent communication (verbal and written) skills are required with demonstrated success in both areas represented on the candidates CV
Apply online at pnnl.jibeapply.com/jobs/307661