Bioinformatician for the Malaria Physiopathology/Malaria Genomics group
Organization: Barcelona Institute for Global Health Posted11 Oct 2022 Closing date31 Dec 2022
The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) is a cutting-edge institute addressing global public health challenges through research, translation into policy and education. ISGlobal has a broad portfolio in communicable and non-communicable diseases including environmental and climate determinants, and applies a multidisciplinary scientific approach ranging from the molecular to the population level. Research is organized in three main areas, Malaria and other Infectious Diseases, Child and Maternal Health, and Urban Health, Climate & Non-Communicable Diseases. ISGlobal is accredited with the Severo Ochoa distinction, a seal of excellence of the Spanish Science Ministry.

ISGlobal is seeking a talented individual who is experienced in bioinformatics analysis of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) data and pipeline development in the context of a project aiming to develop pa genomic surveillance system for malaria in Mozambique (https://www.isglobal.org/en/-/genmoz). The overall objective is to use innovative genomic and analytical tools to advance the goal of malaria eradication. We will target 3 use cases: a) antimalarial and diagnostic resistance; b) parasite importation and characterization of local transmission in near-elimination settings; and c) stratification, monitoring and impact evaluation. The project will be conducted by the Malaria Physiopathology group at ISGlobal, in collaboration with the Manhiça Health Research Center (Mozambique), the EPPICenter at the University of California-San Francisco (USA) and the Institute of Disease Modelling (USA).

Required:
Graduate in bioinformatics, computer science, mathematical modeling, big data analysis or related areas. Background in molecular biology is a plus.
Knowledge and demonstrated experience in management and analysis of genomic data.
Availability to travel to Mozambique & USA for research and training purposes.
Desired:
Master’s or PhD level experience.
3-5 years of experience in bioinformatics software use and/or development (Python, R, and other relevant programming languages).
Demonstrated success in technical proficiency, scientific creativity, collaboration with others and independent thought.
Experience working in the field of infectious diseases.
Demonstrated knowledge of statistical principles, including experimental design and machine learning.
Strong data visualization skills.
Ability to collaborate with the team and translate existing research into practical solutions and products.
Drive project execution and implement a robust plan for measuring success.
Key Responsibilities
Develop and use bioinformatics approaches to interrogate parasite populations from Mozambique to derive epidemiologically actionable information for malaria molecular surveillance.
Explore genetic metrics as proxy indicators of changes in malaria transmission intensity in both low and moderate-to-high transmission settings.
Facilitate integration of genetic data into surveillance activities in Mozambique through periodic interactions with the National Malaria Control Program and other stakeholders in the country working on the surveillance space.
Provide bioinformatics support to the team in other research projects.
Specific Duties
Analysis of malaria parasites genomes to get insights into best approaches for the control and elimination of the disease.
Develop and optimize scripts, analysis pipelines and reports for routine NGS and genomic data processing.
Extend the analytics and visualization of capabilities of in-house developed or existing dashboards.
Contribute to build bioinformatics capacity at CISM Mozambique.
Publication curation and entry into databases.
Interact with the research team in Mozambique & USA for training and harmonization purposes.

Applicants must fill in the request form and include the following code reference position: Bioinformatician_MalariaGenomics_Oct22, attach the CV and a Cover Letter. Each attached document must be named with the candidate name and surname. The receipt of applications will be open until the position is filled.