Research Fellow in Bioinformatics

About the role

The Sussex Bioinformatics lab is seeking a skilled Postdoctoral Research Associate in Bioinformatics to join our team.

You will play a central role in developing the CRUK Data Hub – an online platform making cancer datasets easier to find, access, and reuse in line with FAIR Data principles, working with data scientists at Cancer Research UK and the HDR-UK Health Data Gateway team.  As well as web-development, you will work with CRUK-funded, cancer data owners to ensure high-quality metadata is input into the database, you will create guidance and training materials, and support web design to optimise researcher experience.

Alongside this, you will contribute to the Pearl AI: DependANT project, an AI-powered platform enabling oncologists to use tumour DNA/RNA sequencing data to identify targeted therapies and clinical trials. Your responsibilities will include: processing FASTQ and BAM/CRAM files, and producing variant call files,  generating input data for AI tools and implementing secure bioinformatics workflows.

You will also help prepare patient-facing documentation, contribute to our business plan for potential investors, and lead demonstrations to oncologists, gathering structured feedback.  You will be able to attend CUP (Cancer of Unknown Primary) multidisciplinary meetings, analyse outputs from the pilot study, and collaborate closely with clinicians to ensure clinical impact.

About you

You will recently have completed a PhD in bioinformatics or informatics and will have a passion for turning complex data into real-world impact for cancer patients.

You’ll be excited by the challenge of building secure, reproducible workflows that make this process seamless for researchers and clinicians.  You’ll also have a flair for coding in python and/or Laravel, problem-solving, with experience in web development and a love for writing clean, well-tested code. If you enjoy combining data science, software engineering, and biology into elegant solutions, you’ll feel right at home here.

Collaboration will be at the heart of your work: you’ll engage with oncologists, researchers, and developers, translating their needs into tools. You’ll be comfortable switching between the technical detail of pipelines and the big-picture impact on patient care.

About our School

Please find further information regarding the School of Life Sciences on our website.

The School of Life Sciences is proud to hold a Silver Athena Swan Award. 

Why work here

Find out more about our reward and benefits package.

Find out about our equality, diversity and inclusion

Further Key Information

Please contact f.pearl@sussex.ac.uk for informal enquiries.

For full details and how to apply, click the 'Apply' button above.

The University of Sussex values the diversity of its staff and students, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

The University requires that work undertaken for the University is performed in the UK. 

Visa Sponsorship Queries: This role has been assigned an eligible SOC code and meets the salary requirements for Skilled Worker Sponsorship if full time and appointed at Grade 7.4. Please consult our Skilled Worker Visa information page for further information about Visa Sponsorship.  

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