Download UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON CANCER INSTITUTE JOB

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
CANCER INSTITUTE
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title:
Bioinformatician - Technician
Institute:
Cancer Institute
Reports to:
Professor Adrienne M. Flanagan
Accountable to:
Professor Adrienne M. Flanagan
Grade:
Grade 7
STRATIFIED AND PERSONALISED CANCER MEDICINE is set to transform the way cancer
patients are treated.
The aim of the lab is to deliver a molecular classification of musculoskeletal tumours (sarcoma)
that will ultimately inform personalised patient care.
The Flanagan laboratory has access to unmatched biobanked resource carefully catalogued for
14 years. Prof. Flanagan is the head of Academic Pathology at UCL and the clinical lead for
cellular pathology at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) and London Sarcoma
Service.
She is also Cancer Lead North for the North Thames Genomic Medicine Centre, and the lead
for the Sarcoma Genomics England Clinical Interpretation Partnership (GeCIP) - Sarcoma
domain.
Purpose of the role:
The remit of this post is to undertake computational and statistical analyses on the genomic data
(whole genome and targeted sequencing) from sizeable cohorts of subtypes of sarcoma. The
results will then be developed using next generation sequencing technologies for diagnostic,
predictive and prognostic biomarkers in the clinic. Some of the data will be accessed from the
International Cancer Genome Consortium patient cohorts generated from studies co-led by Prof
Flanagan. There will be opportunities to work in the new eMedLab in order to integrate data sets
(https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0214/06022104-UCL-medical-bioinformatics-grant).
In addition 500 sarcomas from across the UK will undergo whole genome sequencing as part of
the 100,000 genomes project and the establishment of a Sarcoma GeCIP will provide exciting
opportunities to the successful applicant.
The post holder will work closely with Prof. Flanagan, Dr Javier Herrero (Head of the
Computational Cancer Genomics Group), Dr Pillay (clinician scientist), Dr Gupta (senior postdoctoral scientist) and other clinical histopathologists. The work will be undertaken primarily at
UCL,
the
research
base
for
the
Flanagan
and
Herrero
groups
(http://www.ucl.ac.uk/cancer/pathology/geneticssarcoma) (www.ucl.ac.uk/cancer/blic), and there
will be close interactions with the pathology unit at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital
(diagnostic laboratory https://www.rnoh.nhs.uk/clinical-services/cellular-and-molecular-pathlogy.
Some time may be spent accessing databases at RNOH.
The ideal candidate will have a MSc in computational biology and a strong background in NGSbased genome and some experience in transcriptome analysis. Experience with cancer
genomics data will be beneficial. You will be responsible to lead such analyses and develop the
required pipelines. You will be collaborating with other researchers of the institute in the
interpretation of the experimental results.
The UCL Cancer Institute is part of the Faculty of Medical Sciences and is the focus for
cancer research at UCL (www.ucl.ac.uk/cancer). Located in the heart of London, the Institute’s
activities and space are spread across 5 buildings and 2 campuses, the Paul O’Gorman
Building being the central research hub, with around 300 scientists conducting basic and
translational research.
UCL - Computational Cancer Genomics Group
The group occupies the newly built Bill Lyons Informatics Centre located on the 6th floor of the
Paul O'Gorman Building. In addition to providing bioinformatics and statistics support to the
UCL Cancer Institute, Dr Herrero’s group will establish novel lines of research in computational
genomics for the integration of genomics data, the study of cancer heterogeneity and single cell
data analysis. The Bill Lyons Informatics Center will also be involved in the analysis of
Circulating Tumour Cells from the new Single Cell Genomics facility.
The London Sarcoma Service is one of the largest sarcoma services in Europe with an
international reputation for providing the highest quality of care to patients with sarcoma. We
provide a comprehensive service to patients of all ages from the first consultation, through
investigation, to treatment, rehabilitation and follow-up, seeing about 500 new patients with
sarcoma each year.
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital located at Stanmore, Middlesex, is a dedicated specialist
orthopaedic hospital, which incorporates the Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal
Science (University of London). It is also home to the Sarcoma Unit, which undertakes the surgical
treatment of patients (children, young people and adults) with bone tumours and soft tissue
sarcomas of the limb and trunk. In addition to the main hospital there is an out patient unit in
Bolsover Street, central London. The pathology department is a CPA accredited laboratory and it
provides all of the histopathology service for the London Sarcoma Service.
The position is available for two years in the first instance with a possibility for renewal for a
further two years.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBLILTIES:
1.
To conduct NGS-based analyses using primarily DNA-seq, but also related data
including array-based (such as Illumina and Affymetrix) data.
2.
To develop novel algorithms, tools and/or analysis pipelines.
3.
To work with biostatisticians in the UCL Computational Cancer Genomics group
implementing the relevant mathematical/statistical models to interrogate the NGS or arraybased data and derive meaningful biological conclusions.
4.
To document the above and ensure the reproducibility of the results.
5.
To analyse and summarise research results and write reports.
6.
To contribute to collaborative projects.
7.
To contribute towards the training of students.
8.
To write and contribute to the writing of publications and grant applications.
9.
To attend research seminars, departmental meetings or conferences as required.
10.
To participate in any laboratory duties commensurate with the grade as required.
11.
To be aware of and act upon:
Disciplinary procedure and Disciplinary rules
Grievance procedure
Section 7 and 8 of the Health and Safety at Work Act
Departmental Fire Guidelines
Equal Opportunities Policy
12.
To comply with the Health & Safety regulations of the department.
The hours of work and the distribution of these are at the discretion of the Head of Department.
In addition to these duties the post holder will carry out other duties as are within the scope, spirit
and purpose of the job description as requested by the line manager or Head of Department. This
job description is not intended to be exhaustive and it is likely that duties and responsibilities may
be altered from time to time in the light of changing circumstances, in discussion with the post
holder.
Date: