Multi-omics Postdoctoral Fellowship

POSITION DESCRIPTION
A postdoctoral position is available at the University of California, Irvine under the leadership of Dr. Stanley Ng. The successful candidate will explore the relationship between the hierarchy of molecular layers from epigenome to phenome at clonal resolution in various tissues. In brief, studies will involve the generation of multiple data modalities from human and mouse tissue clones, including spatially-resolved somatic DNA mutations, gene and protein expression, and methylation profiles. Bioinformatic integration of distinct data types and subsequent statistical analyses will be performed to elucidate how alterations to various molecular layers in individual clones can lead to their respective contributions to disease development/progression, malignant transformation, and treatment-specific resistance. Thus, these studies will facilitate the identification of novel risk markers and therapeutic targets. The development of minimally invasive and clinically-relevant biofluid-based molecular risk and treatment response predictors using statistical models will also be investigated, with the goal of clinical translation.
We are seeking candidates who are interested in developing novel diagnostic tools and identifying tailored disease-clone specific targeting strategies. Successful candidates will be expected to work independently, while collaborating with bioinformaticians, biologists, clinicians, and other scientists as appropriate to achieve scientific aims.
Our lab employs bleeding-edge computational platforms and state-of-the-art omics technologies. UC Irvine is a world-class research university with highly ranked graduate programs in biomedical sciences. Our Southern California location is home to one of the largest academic research and biotechnology hubs in the US. Lab members enjoy direct access to this outstanding community of clinicians and scientists, as well as the wide range of recreational activities available in our region. Successful candidates will join an interdisciplinary and highly collaborative team working to develop the next generation of tools and technologies to advance precision diagnostics and therapeutics.

Required Qualification
• A PhD or MD/PhD degree with a focus on Epigenetics, Genetics, Genomics, Biology, Bioinformatics, Machine Learning, or a related field Preferred Skills/Qualifications
• Extensive experience in a research environment and at least 1 first-author publication in a reputable scientific journal
• Proficiency in R, Python, and/or other programming languages, and familiarity with working in a Linux-based high-performance computing environment
• Formal training and expertise in statistical model development and the analysis of high-dimensional data, including next generation sequencing datasets
• Ability to work independently to drive projects forward
• Ability to communicate effectively and collaborate as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Ability to compose and deliver comprehensive presentations at scientific meetings and prepare research articles for peer-reviewed publications
• Experience with sectioning, fixing, and staining tissues for histology imaging, laser capture microdissection, and sample prep for (single-cell) sequencing
• Expertise with ATAC-Seq, methylation profiling, genome/exome/targeted sequencing, mutation calling, single-cell analysis, RNA-Seq, proteomics, biofluids analysis, spatial technologies from 10X, NanoString, or similar
• Expertise in machine learning and mathematical/statistical inference (e.g., image classification using deep neural networks, reinforcement learning, regularized regression and classification models, clustering, optimization)
• Experience with multi-omic data generation and integrative analysis (e.g., 10X Multiome, Mission Bio Tapestri, custom-built computational pipelines)
• Expertise with multi-core/multi-threaded parallelization using GPU-based hardware acceleration or similar
• Experience with building highly distributable software (e.g., R packages, Python modules, Linux-based command-line tools, C programs, MATLAB applications, GitHub)

Salary will be based on University of California guidelines for Postdoctoral scholars and is commensurate with qualifications and experience. Appointments will be for up to 3 years, and will be funded by extramural awards.
For additional information about the research program and this opportunity, please contact Dr. Ng at stanlewn@uci.edu.
Department: https://www.biochem.uci.edu/index.asp

QUALIFICATIONS
Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
A PhD or MD/PhD degree with a focus on Epigenetics, Genetics, Genomics, Biology, Bioinformatics, Machine Learning, or a related field

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter (Optional)
• Statement of Research - Describe prior experience, future goals, and how you can contribute to the overall research vision of the Ng laboratory
• Inclusive Excellence Activities Statement - Statement addressing how past and/or potential contributions to inclusive excellence will advance UCI's Commitment to Inclusive Excellence. See our guidance for writing an inclusive excellence activities statement. (Optional)
• Misc / Additional (Optional) Reference requirements 3-5 required (contact information only)

Reference requirements

• 3-5 required (contact information only)

Apply link: https://recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF08190