Bioinformatics Scientist (52645)

Position Objective: The Bioinformatics Scientist will independently provide bioinformatics support to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences within the National Institutes of Health. This Bioinformatics Scientist will advance the institute research programs, with a primary focus on single cell and spatial omics data analysis. 

This role requires advanced proficiency in statistical modeling, machine learning, and integrative analysis to extract biologically meaningful insights from complex cellular systems. The position will collaborate closely with investigators and multidisciplinary teams to design analytical strategies, ensure data quality, interpret results, and translate findings into actionable scientific conclusions. 

Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Generate and optimize programs and scripts for the analysis of data; create programs and algorithms and develop computational
• infrastructure resources for organizing and parsing data from large and complex data.
• Serve as bioinformatics expert and coordinate with teams of biologists to conduct experimental queries and/or perform portions of studies using complex procedures and techniques common to modern bioinformatics.
• Coordinate building bioinformatics infrastructure to ensure easy and meaningful scientific analysis and interpretation of data.
• Provide broad-based programming and analytic support for a wide variety of bioinformatic and research projects.
• Install, troubleshoot and run open-source and commercial scientific software on platforms
• Work independently with research groups to develop, implement, and refine analytical pipeline for single cell data analysis. 5
• Analyze and integrate large-scale, complex multi-omic data to identify biological insights. Identify, evaluate and implement different analytical approaches for processing scRNA-seq data for different experiment protocols, and investigate visualization tools for single cell datasets.
• Perform computational analysis of, and interpret results.
• Provide reports based on analysis of scientific data.
• Perform sequencing and alignment of raw data, and interpret new data using larger public access datasets.
• Provide interpretive analyses of data derived from different experimental platforms to generate biological meaning.
• Write custom programs and algorithms to support data analyses and discovery.
• Collaborate with scientists to design, analyze, manage and interpret all types of data. 1
• Design and execute computational experiments.
• Work with staff on planning of experiments, and data analysis for internal and collaborative projects; use bioinformatics expertise to advise and help bench scientists on experimental design and trouble-shooting.
• Work with staff to develop specifications for new analysis; design, test and implement solutions.
• Make recommendations to investigators about the correct computational tools for testing scientific hypotheses and reaching valid conclusions.
• Prepare scientific reports and progress reports; assemble data to prepare tables, graphs and slides; conduct scientific and program related information searches and report results.
• Organize daily laboratory notebook on experiments; prepare weekly updates on on-going experiments and tasks; provide monthly progress notes on assigned projects; submit final progress reports and future directions on projects.
• Organize laboratory notebook or computer database to record results of calculations. Share results at lab meetings.
• Maintain proper and detailed documentation of the analysis performed and report results at lab meetings.
• Attend scientific and programming meetings; take and compile comprehensive notes; organize and edit content of meeting reports.
• Provides statistical support / analysis on research data.
• Devise novel methods of statistical analysis for collected data.
• Utilize and adapt existing bioinformatics techniques to check for trends and patterns in the data.
• Perform data processing and data analysis with existing computational and statistical methods.
• Assist in evaluating and interpreting results for validity and scientific meaning.
• Establish reproducible data analysis pipelines and standard operating procedures; provide detailed documentations for methodologies so they can be reproduced and applied to similar studies.
• Develop analytical approaches to integrate multiple omic data generated internally as well as use of publicly available datasets.
• Participate in research design with investigators for determining best practices pertaining to the bioinformatics analysis in new and ongoing projects.
• Collaborate with experimental teams to guide study design and validate new assay methods.
• Visualize and interpret data to create reports and presentations for scientific audiences.
• Create novel programs and algorithms that facilitate discovery of knowledge in investigating large and complex data.
• Develop and optimize programs and scripts that facilitate organization, integration and data-mining of large data sets; integrate these models into a framework of best practices.
• Participate in the design of new protocols involving computational methods.
• Work with staff on the development and maintenance of bioinformatics tools, scripts and pipe-lines for data.
• Evaluates new types of experimental approaches to protocols based on knowledge of scientific literature, available facilities and research needs.
• Research and review literature to retrieve targeted clinical or scientific information, including novel statistical methods, from publicly available resources.
• Collaborate with staff to review current and historical procedures for the acquisition, quality control and management of data.
• Analyze and evaluate data cleaning and harmonization needs in the using a variety of descriptive statistics and analytic methods.
• Identify new tools and resources for reaching biologically meaningful conclusions.
• Collaborate with experimentalists and computational biologists to develop new computational tools to answer research questions of interest.
• Independently coordinates the training of personnel in the use of scientific software applications, statistical software application and programmatic software applications.
• Provide training in and technical support (including product updates and version control) for programs, algorithms, archives, and pipelines generated during the course of this work.
• Instruct staff in computational analysis of data.
• Provide ad hoc trainings and hands-on workshops on the use of bioinformatics tools.
• Provide training of students, new investigators, and other laboratory personnel in the use of techniques, procedures and equipment to complete the objectives of the laboratory.
• Onboard and train staff involved in new clinical trials, including the import of a wide variety of legacy data set; provide rigorous quality control of these data.
• Initiates interdisciplinary collaborations with other research centers.
• Work with an interdisciplinary team to apply computational data analysis approaches to make biological discoveries. 3
• Collaborate with group members in experiments associated with data collection.
• Interact with all levels of staff and communicate with outside collaborators in the US and abroad.
• Work with staff, collaborate with outside researchers, and contribute to positive overall teamwork; teach Bioinformatics principles and methodologies.
• Collaborate with biologists, statisticians and/or other bioinformaticians in the design of models summarizing/explaining experimental data.
• Deliver at least one presentation per year to audiences outside the Government.
• Attend group meetings; present findings; author publications resulting from projects.
• Conduct analyses on NextGen sequencing data including data derived in ChIP-Seq,RNA-Seq, miRNA-Seq and other experimental models 2
• Conduct analysis and interpretation on data from genomic platforms including expression, exon, tiling, promoter and others array types 4
• Conduct data analysis and interpretation on other large data types in genomic context
• Establish and maintain work flows including experimental design, analyses of data quality, genome and meta-genome integration and
• others
• Write utility scripts, macros andor custom programs or algorithms in support of biological discovery
• Coordinate with biologists andor other bioinformaticians in the design of models summarizing and explaining experimental data; provide interpretive analyses of dataderived from different experimental platforms to generate biological meaning
• Prepare reports and publication quality graphics summarizing experimental data including providing written documents
• Participate in meetings with biologists; present findings to individuals and groups
• Develop work products and documentation related to applying advanced computational and data analysis approaches to generate biological insights. Independently design analytical strategies; identify and resolve scientific or technical challenges; design studies; analyze and interpret high-throughput biological data; and prepare and present results.
• Develop work products and documentation supporting integrative analysis of internally generated datasets. Contribute to manuscript preparation by drafting data analysis sections, creating publication-quality figures, and facilitating data submission to appropriate external repositories.
• Develop and maintain custom analytical software, scripts, and computational pipelines. Evaluate and implement commercial and open-source tools as appropriate; lead pipeline design and development efforts; establish reproducible workflows and standard operating procedures (SOPs); and provide comprehensive methodological documentation.
• Develop and optimize analytical pipelines for single-cell and spatial transcriptomics data. Identify, evaluate, and implement appropriate computational methods for preprocessing, quality control, integration, clustering, differential expression, and downstream analysis of single-cell datasets.
• Provide ad hoc training sessions and hands-on workshops on bioinformatics tools and analytical methodologies. 
• Participate in group meetings; present analytical findings; and maintain current knowledge of emerging technologies and advances in biology, statistics, computer science, and bioinformatics.

Basic Qualifications: 

• Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, Computational Biology or a biological/life sciences
• Experience with Single Cell Analysis and three years of experience 
• Skilled in R, Python, MATLAB, Linux, Unix, Java, Shell, PERL, Bash, SAS, Bioconductor, Seurat / Scanpy, Cloud computing, and HPC
• Experience in Next gen sequencing data analysis: Bulk RNA-Sequencing, Next gen sequencing data analysis, Genome-wide association studies, and Single Cell RNA-Sequencing
• Experience working with large data sets,  Microarray data analysis, Pipeline development, Multi-omics Analysis, and Machine Learning 
• Experience with Core facility, Reproducible analysis, Common workflow language, Spatial transcriptomics data analysis, Multi-omics analysis and integration, Single cell analysis (scRNA-seq, scATAC-seq, scMultiomics)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, with non-technical and technical staff
• Detail-oriented and possess strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize multiple tasks and projects

*This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required by this position.   

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

GAP Solutions provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you need an accommodation to apply for a job, email us at [email protected]. You will need to reference the requisition number of the position in which you are interested. Your message will be routed to the appropriate recruiter who will assist you. Please note, this email address is only to be used for those individuals who need an accommodation to apply for a job. Emails for any other reason or those that do not include a requisition number will not be returned.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

This position is contingent upon contract award.