Postdoctoral position in bioinformatics of new types of transcriptomic data for Bgee

University of Lausanne
Department of ecology and evolution
Switzerland Lausanne
bioinfo.unil.ch

Description

The Group of Prof. Marc Robinson-Rechavi is proposing a Postdoctoral (Premier Assistant) position in bioinformatics and biostatistics of new types of transcriptomic data for Bgee at the Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. The postdoc will join the interdisciplinary team developing the Bgee database of gene expression, part of the Evolutionary Bioinformatics group, at SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics and at UNIL.

We are looking for a postdoc to develop new methods of transcriptome analysis for Bgee. Bgee is a database integrating curated reference expression data of different types, from in situ hybridization to bulk and single-cell RNA-seq, in diverse animal species. Data integration includes standardization of annotation and data processing, calls of presence or absence of expression, scoring of levels of expression, etc. The postdoc will do research on improved transcriptome analysis, including but not limited to the integration of new types of single-cell RNA-seq, and the integration of alternative splicing. They will participate in the maintenance and development of the Bgee analysis pipeline and of the Bgee R packages. They will actively participate in the collaborative management of Bgee development.

The postdoc will be expected to write and publish methodological articles, e.g. on new methods, benchmarking, or improvements in data interpretation. They will have the opportunity to present results in national and international conferences. They will also be encouraged to collaborate in biology-motivated projects in the lab and with external collaborators.

The person will participate in the life of the Department of Ecology and Evolution (internal and external seminars, journal clubs, etc), and of the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics.

The initial contract will be for 1 year, starting as soon as possible. The postdoc will participate in some undergraduate and/or masters teaching, in English or in French, and supervision of interns and master students.

Working conditions in Lausanne are extremely competitive, and include access to state-of-the-art computing and sequencing facilities. The Department and the group are highly international, and all activities are conducted in English. Salary and benefits are internationally highly competitive. Additional funding for consumables, computing, and to attend international conferences is available.

For background, please see:
bgee.org/

Job information
Expected start date in position : as soon as possible
Contract length : 1 year, renewable for additional 2 years, maximum 3 years
Activity rate : 100%
Workplace : Lausanne-Dorigny

Your responsibilities
The research project will be defined together with the Bgee team, based on the Postdoc interests and competences and the needs of the Bgee project. Most of their time will be dedicated to research, but a contribution to teaching is expected, including the possibility of supervising master students. The job description stipulates:
70% Personal research
25% Participation to teaching activities and master student supervision
5% Maintenance of lab equipment or other institutional tasks.


Qualifications

We are seeking to recruit someone with a strong interest and a PhD degree in bioinformatics, computational biology, or a related field. The PhD must have been obtained in 2021, 2022 or 2023, or you must have plans to complete it in the next months.

A strong background in bioinformatics and functional genomics is required, and experience with collaborative projects or open source is desirable.

Good mastership of the R language necessary.
Experience with genomics, transcriptomics, or related data necessary.
Track record of publication necessary.
Good level of scientific English necessary.
Strong competence in bioinformatics or biostatistics necessary.
Track record of open source software or packages would be a plus.
Experience with Unix and cluster computing would be a plus.
Proven autonomy in writing papers and projects would be a plus.

Interpersonal skills
Good communication and collaboration skills necessary.
Experience in collaborative or interdisciplinary projects would be a plus.


Start date

As soon as possible

How to Apply

bit.ly/3G7DUGD


Contact

Marc Robinson-Rechavi