Associate researcher in bioinformatics with focus on urological cancers

Description of the workplace
The overarching goal of our research is to improve precision medicine and better personalize treatment for cancer patients by developing novel prognostic and treatment predictive biomarkers and study tumor biology to understand treatment resistance and find novel therapeutic targets. To achieve this, we use state-of-the-art technology for tumor analysis, both from tissue and from blood (liquid biopsies) from unique clinical samples. These will be analyzed with novel technology for liquid biopsies such as analysis of circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA and for tissue such as gene expression analysis, DNA-sequencing, single-cell sequencing, and spatial transcriptomics for which advanced bioinformatic analysis will be foundational. Our group has previously focused on breast cancer but is now expanding to urological cancers with a particular focus on prostate cancer. The research is conducted in close collaboration with other preclinical and clinical urological cancer researchers. There are excellent opportunities for using Lund University core facilities and a large emphasis is put on professional growth of the lab members. The research group is located at Medicon Village in Lund, close to many of the technologies we are using and our collaborators.

We offer
Lund University is a public authority, which means that employees get benefits, generous annual leave and an advantageous occupational pension scheme. Read more on the University website about being a Lund University employee:   Work at Lund university 

Work assignments
The successful candidate will collaborate with preclinical and clinical researchers in the group and independently plan, perform and present research projects within precision medicine for urological cancers and work towards the overarching aim of the group to improve personalized therapy for patients with cancer. The candidate will specifically be responsible for bioinformatics and data analysis of the next generation of liquid biopsy biomarker technology based on e.g. epigenomic sequencing and fragmentation analysis of cell-free DNA. Other projects will study how the microenvironment impacts tumor evolution and treatment resistance by using novel single-cell sequencing and spatial transcriptomics technologies. The candidate will also be responsible for setting up computational infrastructure including administration of servers. The candidate is expected to mentor students, present the research results at national and international conferences and apply for funding under guidance.

Qualifications

Necessary qualifications for the job:

• PhD in medicine, biology or computer science
• At least two years of postdoctoral training in bioinformatics or data analysis in cancer research
• Fundamental programming skills in a relevant language such as R or Python.
• Good written and oral communication skills in English.

Meritorious are:

• Courses in biofinformatics, data science or programming
• Courses in urological cancer research.
• Experience from bioinformatic analysis integrating several -omics technologis, in particular single-cell technologies, in urological cancers.
• Experience setting up and administrating computationl equipment for scientific computing.
• Experience in programming, particularly machine learning and artificial intelligence
• Experience in writing software for scientific purposes.
• Experience in scientific publishing
• Experience of successfully applying for competitive research funding.

Type of employment
The employment is a fulltime fixed-term employment from the 14th of November 2024 to the 13th of November 2025. Desired start date is the 14th of November, or as agreed.

How to apply
Applications are to be submitted via the University’s recruitment system. The application should include a CV and a personal letter justifying your interest in the position and how it matches your qualifications. The application should also include a degree certificate or equivalent and any other document to which you would like to draw attention (copies of grade transcripts, details of referees, letters of recommendation, etc.).

Welcome to apply!

The Department of Clinical Sciences Lund is one of six departments at the Faculty of Medicine. Clinical Sciences Lund cooperates closely with Skåne University Hospital and the Faculty of Medicine in order to optimize the conditions for preclinical and clinical translational research, research strategies and development, as well as education on both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.