UK jobs. Bigger possibilities.

Research Associate in Computational Regulatory Genomics

On-site in London·Full-time·Added today (last checked 13 Nov)

Imperial College London

87 open roles

Apply

Our summary

Salary: £50,733 - £59,484 a year
About £3,330 - £3,750 a month after tax.
Work mode: On-site, London
Contract: Full-time
Closing date: Apply by Sunday 29 November

Skills

Pay & benefits

What you'll get

Opportunity to do cutting-edge research on a topic important for both fundamental and translational molecular biology
The opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution and be part of our mission to continue science for humanity
Excellent opportunities for professional development through collaborations within and outside the group
Access to Imperial's sector-leading dedicated career support for researchers as well as opportunities for promotion and progression
Sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 43 days off a year and generous pension schemes).
Be part of a diverse, inclusive and collaborative work culture with various staff networks and resources to support your personal and professional wellbeing.

The role

We invite applications for a 3-year postdoctoral position in the Computational Regulatory Genomics group at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) / Institute of Clinical Sciences. The successful candidate will play a central role in the analysis and interpretation of diverse omics data within the cis-ARC consortium that studies cis-regulatory mechanisms governing vertebrate development. It has been established that long-range promoter-enhancer interactions are indispensable for the normal transcription of key developmental regulatory genes, including transcription factors. These interactions occur within landscapes of extremely conserved noncoding elements - genomic regulatory blocks (GRBs). However, neither the source, nor the functional importance, of this extreme evolutionary conservation has been elucidated.

The successful applicant will perform statistical modelling and develop computational methods to analyse publicly available and consortium-generated omics data with the aim to provide mechanistic hypotheses about transcription regulation within GRBs during zebrafish development.

You will perform whole-genome alignment and identification of conserved non-coding elements and their clusters in the zebrafish genome. Using statistical methods, you will integrate the sequence conservation signal, 3D-genome sequencing datasets and data on chromatin accessibility and gene expression to delineate genomic regulatory blocks, find regulated genes and predict their long-range interactions with cis-regulatory elements. Using the obtained comprehensive view of transcription regulation in selected GRBs in normal development, you will help prioritise regulatory loci for perturbations to observe and interpret emerging phenotypes. For this, you will be working closely with experimental groups of the cis-ARC consortium. You will also have an opportunity to collaborate with other members of the Computational Regulatory Genomics group.

What we are looking for

A PhD (or equivalent) in a relevant field of biology, such as computational biology, bioinformatics, molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry.
First author publication in relevant and refereed journals.
Experience and expertise in more than one of the following areas: analysis and interpretation of bulk or single-cell RNA sequencing or ATAC data, Hi-C-type data, ChIP-seq / CUT&RUN or similar data, CAGE-seq data.
Experience in at least one of the following areas: whole-genome alignment, single nucleotide polymorphism or indel calling and annotation, analysis of evolutionary sequence conservation.
Experience in the analysis or modelling of functional promoter-enhancer associations; or experience in statistical modelling or bioinformatics software/database development.
Excellent communication skills and experience of collaborative work within a research group.