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General information

Location
Cambridge, MA
Ref #
40940
Job Family
Research
Date published
18-Sep-2024
Time Type
Full time

Description & Requirements

The Broad

The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard is one of the world's leading biomedical research institutes. It seeks to discover the molecular basis of major human diseases, develop effective new approaches to diagnostics and therapeutics, and disseminate discoveries, tools, methods, and data openly to the entire scientific community. Founded in 2004, the Broad Institute includes faculty, professional staff, and students from throughout the MIT and Harvard biomedical research communities, with collaborations spanning the globe. 

The Lab 

The Ardlie lab within the Gene Regulation Observatory and the Medical and Populations Genetics Program has an exciting opportunity for one or more postdoctoral associates to join their team efforts dedicated to understanding ​​(1) tissue- and cell-specific gene regulation and expression patterns across the course of development, within and across species, and (2) the patterns of somatic mutations across normal tissues. 

Some of our recent work includes Coorens et al., Nature 2021 and GTEx Consortium, Science 2020. The postdoctoral associate might work primarily on one or other project, or span the projects depending on interest and the expertise they bring to the research. In the dGTEx project, the individual will play an essential role in the team’s efforts to establish a comprehensive molecular resource database spanning a diverse range of tissues across developmental stages in humans and two NHP species, rhesus macaques and marmosets (the developmental Genotype Tissue Expression (dGTEx) projects). 

In addition to creating a robust reference of single cell and tissue-level transcriptional regulation across early ages and species, dGTEx will enable research into developmental and childhood diseases and disorders, and the effect of genetic variation during development and translational therapeutics. This project is generating extensive datasets including RNA-seq and whole genome sequencing as well as single-cell RNA-and ATAC (chromatin), and methylation sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and long read genome and RNA sequencing to better understand the interplay of genetic, transcriptional, spatial biology across development. 

We are seeking a highly-motivated individual with a background specifically in the biology and analysis of single cell genomic and spatial datasets. Additionally, the Ardlie lab leads one of five Genome Characterization Centers (GCCs) within the Somatic Mosaicism across Human Tissues (SMaHT) Network contributing to the generation of the sequencing data underpinning this catalog of somatic genetic variation across normal tissues. This project involves generating data from short- and long-read whole genome sequencing, duplex sequencing and single cell DNA sequencing for multiple tissues across individuals. As part of this effort, we are looking for a highly motivated and talented individual with a computational background, specifically in mutational analysis, to join these efforts and to lead data curation and analyses for this ambitious project. We are seeking a creative, proactive, resourceful, and highly-motivated individual(s) with a background in single cell or somatic genomics to lead research efforts within these projects. 

Opportunities to initiate and lead research, develop new analytic methods, publish, participate in ongoing group projects, and participate in large scale collaborative and consortium science are plentiful. Individuals seeking to apply for this position should have a doctoral degree in genetics, genomics, cell biology, bioinformatics, computational biology, immunology, or a related field. 

Key responsibilities
  • Use computational approaches to analyze, integrate, and interpret genomic data — particularly single-cell RNA- and ATAC-sequencing, spatial transcriptomic, methylation, whole genome sequencing data (short and long read) 
  • Develop and implement approaches to integrate and analyze data within and across species throughout development (dGTEx) 
  • Develop and implement approaches to analyze data patterns of somatic variation across data modalities (long-read, short-read, duplex etc.) (SMaHT) 
  • Design, plan, and execute projects and experiments collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team 
  • Document, compile, analyze, and interpret experimental data 
  • Attend and participate in lab and project meetings, including preparing reports and presenting progress toward project goals 
  • Make significant contributions to, and lead, scientific papers, presentations, and funding proposals  
Qualifications
  • PhD in molecular, cellular, computational biology, or related discipline with a strong background in data analysis 
  • Self-motivated and innovative leader with ability to work independently as well as part of a team in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment 
  • Possesses strong interpersonal skills with ability to build excellent collaborative working relationships, particularly with other consortia members 
  • Ability to multi-task and adapt in a dynamic multi-disciplinary research environment 
  • Exceptional organizational and time-management skills, notebook documentation practices, and attention to detail 
  • Excellent verbal and written communication, critical thinking, and analytical skills 
  • Experience with single-cell RNA, ATAC and/or multiome-sequencing data, spatial single cell approaches, molecular biology, and analyses that integrate genomic variation is extremely important (dGTEx), and analysis of large datasets is preferred
  •  A solid background in both programming and biology is preferable