Imperial College London
Job Description
Job Title:
Research Associate
Section:
Centre for Neuroscience
Division:
Division of Experimental Medicine
Department:
Department of Medicine
Job Family and Level:
Research and Education, Level B
Salary Range:
£26,860 - £39,130 per annum
Responsible To:
Dr Enrico Petretto and Dr Michael Johnson
Works Closely With:
Dr Enrico Petretto
Working Relationships:
The post-holder will be a part of an interdisciplinary
team
of
statisticians,
computer
scientists,
epidemiologists as well as geneticists and molecular
biologists and clinical neurologists and based at the
MRC Integrative Genomics and Medicine Group and
will report jointly to Dr Petretto and Dr Johnson. The
post-holder will work closely with the staff of other CSC
functional genomics groups and with Imperial College
Centre for Biostatistics. The post holder will also liaise
with clinical collaborators at various sites across the UK
and Europe and in Australia.
Location:
Hammersmith and Charing Cross Campuses
Duration:
Fixed-term period of two years in the first instance.
Project Title:
Gene expression profiling and integrated genomics in
drug discovery and prediction of drug response.
Research Programme
The Integrative Genomics and Medicine Group is headed by Dr Enrico Petretto and
forms part of the CSC. The main area of interest is in developing an alternative to the
classic “forward genetics” approach for dissecting complex traits where, instead of
identifying single susceptibility genes affected by DNA variations, pathways and
network models are considered critical to predict the consequences of genetic
variants on complex phenotypes.
The Group’s main objective is to develop and apply innovative approaches for the
integration of genetic, genomic and phenotypic data resources to identify risk factors
for complex diseases. A major research theme is “reverse engineering” gene
regulatory networks using modelling approaches on highly-dimensional genomic
datasets. Emphasis is also given to integrated expression QTL (eQTL) and multilevel phenotypes analysis, comparative genome analysis, global transcriptional
profiling and next generation sequencing. The Group has intramural and external
funding from the MRC, Wellcome Trust and the European Union. The Group works
very closely with the Centre for Biostatistics at Imperial College London, lead by
Professor Sylvia Richardson, and with other statisticians and genetic epidemiologists
within the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Imperial College London.
The Group has achieved international recognition in integrated genomic analyses for
the dissection of complex traits with translation to humans (Petretto et al, 2008;
Petretto et al, 2006), and in high-throughput datasets and analysis protocols
(Ioannidis et al, 2009). Using statistical modelling of gene expression profiles and
integrated linkage analysis we map control points for gene expression as eQTLs
across multiple rodent tissues (Petretto et al, 2010), and we integrated these data
with patho-physiological traits to identify disease genes. Through implementation of
powerful and efficient strategies for analysis of highly dimensional datasets, the
Integrative Genomics and Medicine Group enable integrative genomics approaches
to uncover complex regulatory mechanisms underlying cardiovascular and metabolic
traits (Petretto et al, 2008; Pravenec et al, 2008).
The holder of this post will be responsible for developing and extending these
methods to the study of disorders of the human brain, including epilepsy and
cognitive performance. A principal aim of the research is to identify genes and
regulatory networks driving drug response in epilepsy through the integration of
internationally unique genomic, phenomic and whole genome expression datasets in
epilepsy. All clinical, genomic and expression data are already fully ascertained, so
this project is ready to go.
The expression, genomic and phenomic resources for this project are unique. The
genomic dataset consists of a cohort of 1,400 new onset epilepsy patients with
prospectively recorded seizure and drug response outcomes. All patients have
already been genotyped on Illumina 660Q. The expression data consists of whole
genome expression data (Illumina H6 Expression BeadChip) in 143 surgically
resected (i.e., living) human hippocampus samples, with each sample linked to
antiepilepsy drug response, seizure frequency and cognitive phenotypes including
memory and learning. Our group’s objective is to integrate these datasets to identify
causal neurobiological pathways responsible for drug response in epilepsy so as to
inform predictive models for drug response in epilepsy for use in clinical practice and
to identify new drug targets for the treatment of epilepsy and its cognitive comorbidities.
The post-holder will have access to a 96 node computing cluster providing localised
parallel computing facilities for intensive data processing and genomic sequence
analysis. The project will be based in the Integrative Genomics and Medicine Group,
funded by the CSC and is part of several interdisciplinary collaborative projects
between statisticians, bioinformaticians, geneticists, molecular biologists, and
clinicians working with colleagues throughout the UK and more widely in Europe.
Job Summary
The post is funded by the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust to investigate gene
expression profiling and integrated genomics in drug discovery and prediction of drug
response.
The post-holder will take responsibility for and co-ordinate data modelling, analysis
and interpretation for the Group’s CSC research activities, in co-operation with other
statistical geneticists and bioinformaticians at CSC, Imperial College London (Centre
for Biostatistics) and other collaborating research centres.
The post-holder is also expected to take an active part in the academic activities of
the Clinical Sciences Centre and the Informatics and Genomics Research
laboratories, including contributing to journal club and seminar presentations.
Research Duties
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To take initiatives in the planning of research
To direct the work of small research teams
To identify and develop suitable techniques, and apparatus, for the collection
and analysis of data
To conduct data analysis
To ensure the validity and reliability of data at all times
To maintain accurate and complete records of all findings
To write reports for submission to research sponsors
To present findings to colleagues and at conferences
To submit publications to refereed journals
To provide guidance to staff and students
To attend relevant workshops and conferences as necessary
To develop contacts and research collaborations within the College and the
wider community
To promote the reputation of the Group, the Department and the College
To provide guidance to PhD students
Contribute bids for research grants
To conduct and plan own scientific work with appropriate supervision
To maintain highly organised and accurate record of experimental work
To actively participate in the research programme of the Group and Unit
To publish in high quality journals and to present data at national and
international meetings
To participate in Group/Unit research meetings and internal seminars
Willingness to work out of normal working hours (including weekends) if the
requirements of the project demand
To collaborate with other allied scientists within Imperial College and
elsewhere in London and abroad, as appropriate
To contribute to the smooth running of the Group’s/Unit’s laboratories and
facilities with other scientists, clinicians, technicians and students within the
laboratories
Assist in the supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate research
students and research assistants as required
To comply with the College, Division, and Unit safety practices and to attend
courses on safety when appropriate
Any other duties as may be deemed reasonable by Head of group as well as
Head of Division/Department/Section
Other Duties
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To undertake appropriate administration tasks
To attend relevant meetings
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To comply with relevant College policies, including Financial Regulations,
Equal Opportunities Policy, Promoting Race Equality Policy, Health and
Safety Policy, Information Systems Security Policy, Intellectual Property
Rights and Register of Interests Policies
To undertake any necessary training and/or development
Any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post as directed by line
manager/supervisor
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.
The post holder is expected to observe and comply with all College policies
and regulations, for example Health and Safety, Data Protection etc.
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
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A PhD, or equivalent experience, and proven track record in a relevant
discipline, for example life sciences, statistics, genetics or computing
Knowledge / Experience
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Knowledge of genetics and biology
Experience of genomic data analysis, modelling of very large data sets and
statistical genetics/computational biology
Knowledge of research methods including genome wide association studies
and statistical procedures including statistical modeling applied to large scale
datasets and specific methods of multivariate data analysis.
Knowledge and experience of gene regulatory network inference using
graphical models or Bayesian networks
Practical experience within a research environment and / or publication in
relevant and refereed journals
Dealing with specific groups of people, e.g. sponsors, patients
Practical experience in a broad range of techniques including C/C++, Matlab,
Java, R, micro-array data analysis
Computer literate with a good knowledge of different computer programs with
experience in data presentation and statistical analyses
Experience with the use of imaging software would be advantageous
Basic understanding of the principles of next-generation sequencing and the
specific methods of data analysis for these data
Skills and Abilities
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Ability to conduct a detailed review of recent literature
Ability to develop and apply new concepts
Creative approach to problem-solving
Excellent verbal communication skills and the ability to deal with a wide range
of people
Excellent written communication skills and the ability to write clearly and
succinctly for publication
Ability to direct the work of a small research team and motivate others to
produce a high standard of work
Ability to organise own work with minimal supervision
Ability to prioritise own work in response to deadlines
Advanced computer skills, including word-processing, spreadsheets, the
Internet and programming for biological applications
Previous experience of supporting and training other researchers with
statistical analysis
Personal Attributes
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Willingness to work as part of a team and to be open-minded and cooperative
Flexible attitude towards work
Discipline and regard for confidentiality and security at all times
Willingness to undertake any necessary training for the role
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Willingness to travel both within the United Kingdom and abroad to conduct
research and attend conferences
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. If you need more
space, please attach additional sheets to the application form.
The recruitment monitoring section of your application will be detached and will be
used only for monitoring and audit purposes as a basis for supporting our
commitment to Equal Opportunities.
An application form and full CV quoting reference number HM2010120 should be
sent, by the closing date of 23 September 2010, online via the Imperial College
iRecruitment website.
Shortlisted candidates will be contacted as soon as possible after the closing date.
Thanks you for your interesting this post. We look forward to receiving your
application.