Junior Bioinformatician Jobs

This competition is restricted to internal applicants of the University of Alberta. Please indicate your internal status using the "Advertisement" drop down menu when applying.

This position is a part of the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA).

This position has a term length of one year plus a day and offers a comprehensive benefits package which can be viewed at: Faculty & Staff Benefits .

Location - North campus. This role is in person

Department Summary

Dr. David Wishart is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta. He is a highly respected scientist who operates one of the largest and best-equipped laboratories at the University of Alberta. His research facilities are situated in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences on the University of Alberta campus. Dr. Wishart’s laboratories contain more than $10 million in cutting-edge analytical equipment including more than a half dozen high-end mass spectrometers and a fully equipped 700 MHz NMR spectrometer. Dr. Wishart has active research programs in precision health, cancer (lung, breast), infectious diseases (COVID-19), neurological diseases (Alzheimer’s, ALS), kidney diseases, animal/livestock health, forestry research, microbiome research, food chemistry, structural biology, portable sensor systems and metabolomics technology development. He has active collaborations with more than 30 scientists around the world. Additional information about Dr. Wishart and his laboratory can be found on The Metabolomics Innovation Centre (TMIC) website at www.metabolomicscentre.ca and Wishart Node TMIC website at www.tmicwishartnode.ca.

Position Summary

Junior Bioinformatician is responsible for assisting with various research projects in the field of bioinformatics, and for maintaining software and computer systems within Wishart Lab. The individual will work with other researchers to support the planning and coordinating of development of the web-based platforms, meet reporting requirements, track progress, and provide data in the preparation of manuscripts. The individual will also assist with the development and maintenance of software, web applications, and databases for both lab and public use. As a part of the bioinformatics team, the individual will also work in machine learning based projects. respond to any user queries regarding Wishart lab computer systems

Duties

IT administration (10%)

• Follows directions given by PI to maintain existing web applications and software by updating software components, fixing bugs and adding new features when required
• According to existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) assists with maintenance of web application servers by troubleshooting problems identified by users, applying software updates when software expires, making configuration changes, and migrating software applications to new servers as needed

Software Development (75%)

• Following standard operating procedures, provides assistance to new employees and students on computer operations, networking, and software development
• Participates in the preparation of abstracts and manuscripts for publication by providing required research data by request of other senior members of the team and PI
• Contributes to developing software and software pipelines to solve specific bioinformatics problems and assists in research under the guidance of the PI and/or senior bioinformaticians
• Following Lab SOPs assists with maintaining web applications for general use, including publicly available bioinformatics tools and lab management systems
• Contributes to creating and maintaining Wishart Lab databases for new and existing web applications
• Assists other research scientists to determine appropriate data analysis strategies and data representation/organization models for projects within the lab, and provides feedback

Meeting Preparation (10%)

• Prepares slides with research data/results to demonstrate project progress during lab meetings with PI and bioinformatics team
• Discusses problems in software and database development with senior lab personnel and works with the team to determine solutions and timelines for necessary fixes.

User Support (5%)

• Responds to user enquiries for help with web applications.
• Assists with troubleshooting any reported user problems using existing lab protocols.

Minimum Qualifications

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Minimum BSc Biology, Computing Science and/or Bioinformatics
• Knowledge of HTTP protocols, REST API, and web layout design
• Knowledge and experience with programming languages such as Ruby, Python, Java, Perl, or R

Preferred Qualifications

• Understands database design and administration (e.g. MySQL).
• Experience using version control systems (e.g. Git)
• UNIX-based operating systems for server administration