Salary: £46,735 per annum Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you. Closing Date: 29 April 2025 The Role We are seeking a talented senior bioinformatician with a strong background in analysing next-generation sequencing data from cancer patients, to explore the genomic landscape of acute leukaemia and determine the clinical relevance of genetic and transcriptomic variation. You will work as a member of the Leukaemia Research Cytogenomics Group (LRCG) in the Newcastle Translational & Clinical Research Institute at Newcastle University under the guidance of Professors Anthony Moorman and Christine Harrison and Dr Sarra Ryan. Initially your project will focus on the analysis of genomic data generated from samples taken from patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and treated on the MyeChild01 clinical trial. The genomic dataset predominantly comprises whole transcriptomic (RNA) sequencing data but also includes data from whole genome sequencing, targeted DNA and RNA sequencing and optical genome mapping. The project is part of the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Experimental Medicine Award entitled “BIOINFORM: Biologically informed treatment decisions in acute leukaemia” award to Professor Moorman. The overall aim of the programme is to explore the genomic landscape of acute leukaemia and its association with clinical outcome. All the genomic datasets held by the LRCG are richly annotated with patient demographic, clinical, treatment and outcome; and correlating genetics with clinical features is a major part of our programme of research. You will work closely with internal and external collaborators who are experts in the biology and treatment of childhood and adult leukaemia to leverage our unique datasets to identify biomarkers and help improve the outcome of patients with acute leukaemia. This is an excellent opportunity join a dynamic translational research group with a track record of improving patient diagnosis and management. You will have the opportunity to develop their research skills, learn new methods/techniques and progress to the next stage of their career. You will have a postgraduate degree in a relevant discipline and extensive experience in cancer bioinformatics, including developing analytical pipelines. This appointment is a fixed term post from 1st May 2025 until 30th April 2030. To apply for the position, we’ll need your CV and a cover letter outlining how you are suitable for the role using evidence to highlight how you meet the essential criteria in the knowledge, skills and experience as listed in the job description. Informal enquiries are encouraged and can be made to Professor Anthony Moorman anthony.moormannewcastle.ac.uk Further Information about the Faculty can be found at: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/fms/. Key Accountabilities Including (but not limited to): • Independently develop and implement analytical pipelines to analyse whole transcriptomic sequencing data and targeted DNA sequencing data to call fusion transcripts and other relevant abnormalities from multiple patient cohorts • Independently integrate multi-omic data with genetic and clinical data to assess and evaluate the prognostic impact of genetic abnormalities in acute myeloid leukaemia and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia patient cohorts • Lead on the preparation of research for publication and dissemination, either through seminar and conference presentations or through publications • Lead on the design, development, and deployment of novel bioinformatic methods required for the project and the wider research group • Assess research findings for the need/scope for further investigations • Liaising with other researchers / partners working on related data approaches • Liaising with academic and industrial partners to understand their needs and reporting mechanisms • Help with the supervision of final year undergraduate research projects and postgraduate research students and where appropriate PhD students and Research Assistants • To collaborate with project partners (principal investigators, co-investigators, clinicians and trial managers) on the interpretation and analysis of genomic data within the wider clinical trial projects • Contribute to grant applications submitted by others and in time, the desire to develop own research objectives and proposals for own funding or, where funders do not permit this, contribute to the writing of collective bids • To work independently and collaboratively • To maintain a keen interest in research developments and to share knowledge and experience with colleagues to provide direction to the project and introduce innovative methods of harmonising and analysing data • To meet project deadlines and milestones and manage the reporting contributions to the project appropriately • Planning and communication of analytical strategies and presentation of results to team members, expert academic user groups and collaborations within and outside of Newcastle University • Contribute to broader organisational and management processes and to co-ordinate the work of other colleagues where necessary • Where necessary, participate in the maintenance of bioinformatic hardware, software and resources (e.g. servers, Cloud computing, archiving) • Contribute to events celebrating the public engagement of science/social sciences/humanities The Person Knowledge, Skills and Experience • Knowledge of cancer genomics and genetic variation in cancer • Knowledge, practical experience and training in bioinformatics and NGS pipeline development for the analysis of sequencing data and the identification of genetic variation in samples • Proficient in the use of R/Bioconductor and working within a Unix/Linux environment for the analysis and presentation of whole transcriptomic sequencing and DNA sequencing data • Experienced and skilled in the use of high-performance cloud computing solutions • Experience with the publication of work in peer reviewed journals and presentation of findings at conferences • High level of analytical and problem-solving capability • Excellent communication skills and ability to communicate complex information with clarity and to encourage the commitment of others Desirable • Experience with the preparation of grants for submission to funders • Experience in the supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate students (to PhD level) • Experience of working in a research environment Attributes and Behaviour • Ability to work well as part of a team or collaborators • Ability to rapidly acquire new skills • Enthusiastic, well-motivated and hard working • Good attention to detail • Commitment to continued professional development Qualifications • PhD in a relevant subject e.g. bioinformatics or molecular biology (with substantial bioinformatics component) Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution. We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population. At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme. In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. Requisition ID: 28078