research fellow London, England
Job description
About us
Dr Marko Nikolić is PI of the Lung Regeneration and Development Group, part of UCL Respiratory, within the Division of Medicine. The laboratory is extremely well equipped with an attractive working environment. Dr Nikolić runs a cross-disciplinary, collaborative team including highly motivated junior and senior researchers, clinicians, data scientists, and single cell experts.
About the role
We are seeking a collaborative and self-motivated Bioinformatician (Research Associate) to work on multiomic analysis of organ maturation during late fetal human development. Many structural defects and single gene disorders affecting the infant manifest during fetal life. In addition, preterm birth and fetal growth restriction prevent normal development in the second half of pregnancy. Together with neonatal infection, these conditions are leading causes of infant morbidity and mortality. Researchers have detailed understanding about prenatal organ system development in the first half of pregnancy, but there is a distinct knowledge gap across late fetal development, a time of immense maturation of organs. A collaboration between University College London and associated hospitals has ethical approval and funding in place to collect and study multiple late fetal organ tissues, between 20 to 40 pcw, a time-frame that aligns with premature birth. The London team, together with collaborators at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, will generate a healthy single-cell atlas of late fetal lung, blood, heart, bone and immune organs from a diverse range of ethnicities. Preterm birth particularly affects these organs. This globally unique resource will be explored using multiomic single-cell profiling coupled to state-of-the-art bioinformatic analysis to define cell types and states, their interactions, and developmental trajectories, giving insights into organ maturation. Spatial gene expression will allow us to map novel cell states back to tissue architecture providing further understanding of function. This project will contribute to the Human Cell Atlas and will transform current knowledge of human organ development and maturation, paving the way to discover new therapeutics, with a direct benefit to paediatric and adult health. This role is initially for one year, with the potential for extension for another year.
About you
We are seeking a collaborative and self-motivated Bioinformatician (Research Associate) to work on multiomic analysis of organ maturation during late fetal human development. The successful applicant will have a proven track record of publications, have previous experience with NGS data analysis, be fluent in at least one of the following programming languages: C++, Python or R, and is expected to have strong skills in the field of genomics and desirably one or more of the following: developmental biology, immunology, statistics, mathematics or machine learning. Prior experience with data analysis based on integrating large datasets is desired.
What we offer
This is an exciting opportunity to join a multidisciplinary team working across the Department of Respiratory Medicine and the Division of Medicine. As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below: • 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days) • Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme • Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE) • Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan • Immigration loan • Relocation scheme for certain posts • On-Site nursery • On-site gym • Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay • Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service • Discounted medical insurance Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As London’s Global University, we knowdiversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community torepresent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality ofopportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourageapplications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’sworkforce. These include people from Black, Asian andethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people Our department holds an Athena SWAN Silveraward, in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancinggender equality.
