Bioinformatics Analyst II, Biostatistics Branch, CGR - Hybrid/Remote

Job ID: req2884
Employee Type: exempt full-time
Division: Clinical Research Program
Facility: Rockville: 9609 MedCtrDr
Location: 9609 Medical Center Dr, Rockville, MD 20850 USA

The Frederick National Laboratory is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and operated by Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. The lab addresses some of the most urgent and intractable problems in the biomedical sciences in cancer and AIDS, drug development and first-in-human clinical trials, applications of nanotechnology in medicine, and rapid response to emerging threats of infectious diseases.

Accountability, Compassion, Collaboration, Dedication, Integrity and Versatility; it's the FNL way.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Cancer Genomics Research (CGR) laboratory in Gaithersburg, MD, is an advanced, fast-paced, high-throughput organization dedicated to the support of molecular, genetic and epidemiologic studies for investigators at the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics (DCEG). The Division includes over 70 principal investigators (PIs) who are at the forefront in cancer epidemiology, genetics, and biostatistics and conduct sophisticated multidisciplinary family- and population-based research utilizing cutting-edge multi-omics technologies to discover the genetic and environmental determinants of cancer. The investigators at DCEG are uniquely positioned to design exemplary studies by collaborating with investigators globally and lead the design and analysis of large-scale genome-wide association studies, studies of tumor characteristics using integrated genomic data analysis and molecular epidemiologic studies based on novel metabolomic and macrobiotic assays. Within DCEG, the Biostatistics Branch (BB) staff and Investigators develop statistical methods and data resources to strengthen observational studies, intervention trials, and laboratory investigations of cancer. DCEG/BB is adding computational support, to be provided through CGR, to support methods for large genomic studies including GWAS analysis, somatic mutation analysis, and integrative tumor analysis. We are seeking a highly motivated bioinformatics analyst to join the bioinformatics team at the CGR and provide dedicated analytical support for BB investigators while working in concert with DCEG investigators, external collaborators, CGR management and staff. The successful incumbent will provide support to the BB analytical efforts, and will have the opportunity to:

KEY ROLES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work closely and learn from expert principal investigators within the biostatistics branch while supporting a broad portfolio of DCEG projects
• Utilize strong programming expertise to develop, test and benchmark new software packages in a high-performance computing cluster (HPC) and/or cloud environment
• Review, QC, and integrate data from multiple sources (multi-omics studies), primarily focused on germline genotyping and sequencing data, with some additional somatic mutations, copy number alterations, transcription, and methylation data for cancers
• Organize results into clear presentations and concise summaries of work, in formats useful for scientific interpretation
• Document all analyses and pipelines used in support of reproducible and FAIR research
• Develop and execute advanced analyses including multiplicative interaction analyses, pathway-based analyses, integrative analyses
• Work closely with DCEG and BB PIs in support of scientific manuscript development, submission, revision activities with significant co-authorship opportunities
  
  

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

To be considered for this position, you must minimally meet the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed below:

• Possession of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university according to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in bioinformatics, computer science, computational biology or related field. Foreign degrees must be evaluated for U.S. equivalency
• In addition to educational requirements, a minimum of two (2) years of related analytical or bioinformatics pipeline development experience
• The ability to construct practical computational pipelines for data parsing, quality control and analysis for large-scale genetic or genomics datasets
• Strong programming skills (e.g., in R, Python)
• Demonstrable shell scripting skills (e.g., bash, awk, sed)
• Experience working in a Linux environment (especially a HPC environment or cloud)
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance
  
  

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

To be considered for this position, you must minimally meet the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed below:

• Strong programming skills in Python, R and Bash scripting with experience working on HPC.
• Candidates with bioinformatics/computer science background or strong programing skills and interest in biology are highly encouraged to apply
• Experience with various environment/dependency management tools (e.g., pip, venv, conda, renv)
• Knowledge of DevOps tools and technologies, such as Docker/Singularity, GitHub for code management
• Hands-on experience in processing sequencing, genotyping, expression, and other data utilizing bioinformatics tools is preferred but not required
• Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment, organize and execute multiple projects in parallel both independently and as part of working groups
• Flexibility to understand the needs of the investigators and switch gears based on project requirements
• Familiarity with public genomic tools, databases, and utilities
• Experience managing large datasets and computational tasks
• Team oriented with demonstrated ability self-educate in current bioinformatics techniques and resources
• Excellent written and oral communication-ability to communicate clearly and effectively with staff and other groups within CGR, BB and DCEG

Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) | Minority/Female/Disabled/Veteran (M/F/D/V) | Drug Free Workplace (DFW)

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