Lead/Principal Bioinformatics Research Scientist, Clinical Genomics

The clinical genomics program at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital started in 2013 as a pioneer in the use of whole genome sequencing for clinical testing. This position in the department of Computational Biology will play a key role in continuing our innovation in this space.

The ideal candidate brings knowledge of cancer biology and stays abreast of current methods and trends in published literature. By leveraging this knowledge, working in productive collaboration with stakeholders, this role can proactively identify viable opportunities and effective solutions, thereby serving as a catalyst to innovation within the clinical genomics program.

This role involves directing the efforts of the multidisciplinary team that performs end-to-end development of bioinformatics pipelines, including evaluation of existing methods, development of annotation and filtering strategies, and validation in accordance with CAP/CLIA requirements. This requires bioinformatics rigor applied in a clinical context where turnaround time limits, workflow considerations, and unique analytical performance criteria apply.

Candidates must possess strong communication and interpersonal skills, as the position will engage regularly with pathologists, analysts, bioinformaticians, and engineers within the departments of Pathology and Computational Biology, as well as clinicians and scientists from various departments in the institution.

Job Responsibilities:

• Design and lead advanced analyses and deliver high-quality results in a timely manner by identifying new technologies and methodologies and recommend for adoption when appropriate.
• Coordinate development of novel software tools and infrastructure as scientific and technical advisor, by contributing code and providing scientific guidance to developers.
• Conceptualize, initiate, and lead manuscript preparation and submission of benchmarking results, new pipelines, databases, and scientific discoveries where appropriate.
• Establish best practices and new protocols for analysis matching skills and expertise, and share protocols with St. Jude investigators through open documentation and hands-on training.
• Assist in acquiring funding to support methods evaluation, development, and infrastructure.
• Lead and coordinate the development of curriculum to educate the St. Jude community.
• Is an independent project leader for large-scale projects and mentors junior staff.
• Perform other duties as assigned to meet the goals and objectives of the department and institution.
• Maintains regular and predictable attendance.

Minimum Education and/or Training:

• Bachelor's degree in bioinformatics, cheminformatics, statistics/computer science (with a background in biological sciences or chemistry) or related field.
• Master's degree or PhD preferred.

Minimum Experience:

• Minimum Requirement: Bachelor's degree with 13+ years of relevant post-degree work in bioinformatics, cheminformatics, statistics/computer science (with a background in biological sciences or chemistry).
• Experience Exception: Master's degree with 11+ years of relevant post-degree experience (OR) PhD with 8+ years of relevant post-degree experience.
• Substantial experience in at least one programming or scripting language and at least one statistical package, with R preferred.

Compensation

Explore our exceptional benefits!

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has a diverse, global patient population and workforce, built on the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. Our founder Danny Thomas envisioned a hospital that would treat children of the world-regardless of race, religion or a family's ability to pay. Learn more about our history and commitment.

Today, we continue the mission to advance cures and means of prevention for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. As we accelerate this progress globally, we believe our legacy of diversity, equity and inclusion is foundational to success. With the commitment of leaders at all levels of the organization, we strive to ensure the St. Jude culture, leadership approaches and talent processes are equitable and culturally responsive. View our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report to learn about the hospital's roots in diversity, equity and inclusion, where we are today and our aspirations for an even better future.

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