IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title:
Research Associate (SM229-13)
School:
Public Health
Department:
Genomics of Common Disease
Job Family / Level:
Academic and Research, Level B
Salary Range:
£28,770 – £41,540 per annum
Responsible to:
Dr Mario Falchi, Lecturer in Population Genetics
of Complex Human Disease
Contract:
Full time, fixed term for 18 months in the first
instance
Location:
Hammersmith Campus, East Acton
Research Programme and Job Summary:
The Department of Genomics of Common Disease is a world leader in genomic
research of common human diseases. As part of a major expansion of our research
activities, in collaboration with the Department of Mathematics we are reinforcing our
computational biology team, and are seeking to recruit candidates for three postdoctoral Research Associate positions within the Department of Genomics of
Common Disease, one position for each of a statistician, a bioinformatician and a
computer scientist. Successful candidates will harness statistical and computational
approaches to develop and apply integrative genomic methods aimed at the
identification of genomic and non-genomic biomarkers and their interactions, involved
in phenotypic variation in humans. They will integrate information from multiple data
sources, including genomic sequencing, structural variant, epigenetic and
transcriptomic multi-tissue data, and phenome data (quantitative and end-point
phenotypes, environmental variables, clinical parameters, NMR and mass-spec
metabolomics data), to build their interaction networks and infer the underlying
biological pathways. Close interaction with the genomics laboratories within the
Department will allow further refinement and validation of the computational models.
Current projects aim to disentangle the genomic basis of a wide range of end stage
qualitative phenotypes including metabolic diseases, cancer, ageing, and renal
diseases, as well as quantitative phenotypes measured in the healthy and diseased
population.
Among these projects, particular attention will be given by the computational biology
team to two integrative genomics studies, one aimed at the identification of noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers in IgA nephropathy, and another aiming to
disentangle the genetic link between reduced biological senescence and melanoma.
IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common form of primary glomerulonephritis,
leading to end-stage renal disease in up to 40% of patients, who thus require dialysis
or kidney transplant within 20 years of renal biopsy-proven diagnosis. In addition,
since this disease can run in families, there is a need for a test to predict whether
relatives of patients might develop the disease. This project will use a family-based
design to identify novel genetic/genomic variants for IgA susceptibility through nextgeneration sequencing data, that will be combined together with clinical and
biochemical parameters and histopathological features in a predictive model to be
tested and refined using an independent IgAN sample. This approach will yield a
non-invasive tool of valuable help for physicians, for: (1) Better assessment of
prognosis in patients with established IgAN, which may also allow stratification of
treatment; (2) Better prediction of the risk of IgAN in relatives of affected patients; (3)
Pathophysiological insights, to drive the development of new therapies. The project
will be developed in collaboration with Professors Terence Cook, Matthew Pickering
and Charles Pusey at Imperial College and Professor Paolo Schena of the University
of Bari.
The aim of the melanoma study is to disentangle the inverse relationship that has
been observed between ageing and melanoma susceptibility, by taking advantage of
a unique resource consisting of existing genome-wide genetic data and gene
expression in more than 800 skin biopsies from disease-unselected twins from the
MuTHER Consortium. The sample has been carefully characterized for naevus
density and skin phenotypes, and for an extensive number of molecular and clinical
ageing-related phenotypes. High naevus count, one of the strongest risk factors for
melanoma, has been linked to reduced senescence in cells of high-risk individuals.
Furthermore, individuals with high number of naevi were found to be protected
against ageing phenotypes such as osteoporosis, thus showing that this reduced
senescence is not melanocyte specific. The goal of the study is to identify regulatory
networks (describing biological pathways) and genes linking melanoma risk and
reduced senescence, and to characterize their tissue-specific (or systemic) effects by
exploiting additional genome-wide expression data in muscle, adipose tissue and
lymphocyte cell lines from the same subjects. The project will be developed in close
collaboration with Dr Veronique Bataille and Professor Tim Spector (King’s College
London).
Other studies carried out in the Department include a variety of study designs,
including genetic isolates, in which individuals are related to each other through
multiple lines of descent. An additional aim of the computational biology team will
therefore be to extend novel and available methods to allow data integration in
correlated samples. This project will be developed in collaboration with the Qatar
Biobank, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), and Qatar Computing
Research Institute (QCRI)
The post-holder will become a part of the interdisciplinary team of statisticians,
computational biologists, mathematicians as well as geneticists and molecular
biologists based at the Department of Genomics of Common Disease and will report
to Dr Mario Falchi. The post-holder will take responsibility for and co-ordinate data
modelling, analysis and interpretation for the Department research activities, in cooperation with other statistical geneticists and bioinformaticians at Imperial College
London and other collaborating research centres.
The post-holder will also work closely with the other staff of the Department of
Genomics of Common Disease (including Professor Philippe Froguel, Dr Inga
Prokopenko, Dr Toby Andrew) and Dr Leonardo Bottolo from the Department of
Mathematics at Imperial College London. The post-holder will also liaise with existing
collaborators at various sites across the UK and Europe.
Research Duties:
The specific duties of the post-holder are as follows:
 To publish in high quality journals and to present data at national and international
meetings
 To take responsibility for and to co-ordinate their own scientific work with other
Group members as required
 To take a leading part in the Group’s research meetings, internal seminars and
academic activities
 To maintain organised and accurate record of their work
 To conduct data analysis, ensuring the validity and reliability of data at all times
 To collaborate with affiliated scientists and other researchers within Imperial
College and elsewhere in London or abroad, as appropriate
 To assist in the supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate research students
and Research Assistants as required
These duties may change over the course of the post in line with the objectives of the
Department.
Other Duties
 To undertake appropriate administrative tasks
 To undertake any necessary training and/or development
 Any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post as directed by line
manager/supervisor
 To comply with the College, School, and Departmental safety practices and to
attend courses on safety as appropriate
 To observe and comply with all College policies and regulations, including the
key policies and procedures on Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest, Data
Protection, Equal Opportunities, Financial Regulations, Health and Safety,
Imperial Expectations (for new leaders, managers and supervisors), Information
Technology, Private Engagements and Register of Interests, and Smoking
 To undertake specific safety responsibilities relevant to individual roles, as set out
on the College Website Health and Safety Structure and Responsibilities page
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/safety/policies/organisationandarrangements
Job descriptions cannot be exhaustive and so the post holder may be required
to undertake other duties, which are broadly in line with the above key
responsibilities.
Imperial College is committed to equality of opportunity and to eliminating
discrimination. All employees are expected to adhere to the principles set out
in our Equal Opportunities in Employment Policy, Promoting Race Equality
Policy and Disability Policy and all other relevant guidance/practice
frameworks.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Qualifications
Essential
 A PhD (or equivalent experience) in computational biology / computer science
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
 A strong background and publication track record in the areas of computational
biology / computer science
 Experience in working with high-dimensional data
 Evidence of high level of proficiency in at least one general programming
language (e.g. Java, C, C++) and scripting language (e.g. Perl, Python)
 Knowledge of standard data modelling packages (R, STATA, Matlab)
Desirable
 A basic understanding of genetics and biology
 Extensive postdoctoral research experience in an established statistical
genetics/computational/bioinformatics lab
 Experience in analyses of large scale array and next-generation sequencing data
 Understanding of signal treatment and analysis of mass spectrometry and NMR
data
 Knowledge and experience of gene regulatory network inference using graphical
models
 Knowledge and experience in methods for data mining & machine learning
Skills and Abilities
Essential
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Excellent writing, presentation, and communication skills
Demonstrable ability to innovate, and ability to trouble-shoot technical problems
Ability to communicate clearly with scientists from multi-disciplinary backgrounds
Ability to organise own workload with minimal supervision
Ability to prioritise a varied workload and work under pressure to meet deadlines
while maintaining a high level of accuracy
Must be self-motivated with excellent organizational skills
Ability to work well independently and as part of a team, being prepared to work
at a high level of productivityPersonal Attributes
Essential
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Proven ability to problem solveAbility to deal with colleagues in a professional
manner at all times
Ability to change and adapt according to the development of the project
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
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Ability to assist in directing junior researchers and assist in motivating others to
produce a high standard of work
Ability to prioritise own work in response to deadlines
Ability to exercise initiative and work independently
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Other
Essential
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Willingness to travel both within the United Kingdom and abroad to conduct
research and attend conferences
Imperial Expectations
These are the 7 principles that Imperial leaders, managers and supervisors are
expected to follow:
1) Champion a positive approach to change and opportunity
2) Communicate regularly and effectively within, and across, teams
3) Consider the thoughts and expectations of others
4) Deliver positive outcomes
5) Encourage inclusive participation and eliminate discrimination
6) Support and develop staff to optimise talent
7) Work in a planned and managed way
APPLICATION GUIDANCE
Please read the person specification carefully and describe, as part of your
application, how much you feel you meet each of the criteria. To facilitate
completing your application, please prepare the following information:
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A cover letter describing your research interests and why you wish to apply for
the position
Current curriculum vitae
Your CV it should include the following information:
Applicant’s full name, private address and private telephone number
A confidential e-mail address and fax number, where possible
Degrees (including University and dates)
Past and present posts
List of publications
Names, addresses and email for three referees.
Thank you for your interest in this post. We look forward to receiving your
application.