Bioinformatics Research Scientist - Center of Excellence for Pediatric Immuno-Oncology

We are seeking a talented, highly motivated Bioinformatics Research Scientist to join the Center of Excellence in Pediatric Immuno-Oncology (CEPIO) at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. This position is embedded in the lab of Hongbo Chi, PhD, chair of the department of Immunology, and will work with an interdisciplinary group of scientists, postdoctoral research associates, and faculty.

About the role

The successful candidate will develop innovative solutions for analyzing and visualizing omics data related to immuno-oncology studies. The role involves both collaborative and independent work on projects within the CEPIO, leading cutting-edge computational analyses of omics datasets including transcriptomics, proteomics, scRNA-seq, ATAC-seq, spatial omics, CRISPR screens, and other datasets. The candidate will ensure highly effective, accessible, and scientifically rigorous results.

CEPIO, established in 2023, serves as the central hub to advance and coordinate cross-disciplinary studies in immuno-oncology across St. Jude’s basic and clinical departments, cores, and centers. Focused areas of research include systems immunology, functional genomics, and translational immuno-oncology.

Responsibilities

• Independently perform basic and advanced statistical analysis, algorithm implementation, and programming from a variety of biotechnology platforms, and oversee quality checks.
• Design and prepare materials and courses for training on bioinformatics software, databases, computing, data mining, and analysis.
• Act as a liaison between end-users, software developers, system designers, and different departments.
• Establish protocols or best practices for common research tasks and standard operating procedures (SOPs), evaluate products and solutions, and make recommendations.
• Lead the development, implementation, installation, and maintenance of databases; coordinate data collection, database usage, and related hardware/software.
• Develop programs to assist in data analysis within databases.
• Assist in planning, coordinating, and organizing projects across departments and delegate tasks based on priority, expertise, and capacity.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in bioinformatics, cheminformatics, statistics/computer science (with a background in biological sciences or chemistry), or a related field.
• Master’s degree or PhD preferred.
• Minimum requirement: Bachelor’s degree with 6+ years of relevant post-degree work experience in bioinformatics, cheminformatics, or related fields.
• Experience exception: Master’s degree with 4+ years of relevant post-degree experience or PhD with no experience.
• Experience in at least one programming or scripting language and at least one statistical package, with R preferred.

Skills

• Strong programming skills in R and Python, with experience developing bioinformatics workflows and data analysis pipelines.
• Hands-on experience using Linux operating systems and high-performance computing (HPC) environments for large-scale data processing.
• Extensive experience analyzing and interpreting next-generation sequencing (NGS) data, including CRISPR screening, single-cell RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq, and spatial transcriptomics.
• Excellent critical thinking, problem-solving, and data management skills with keen attention to detail.
• Knowledge of machine learning and artificial intelligence tools is a plus.

Pay

A reasonable estimate of the current salary range is $86,320 – $154,960 per year.

Benefits

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital offers exceptional benefits. Explore more on our website.