Who we're seeking
The Szpara lab is seeking a dynamic and motivated scientific programmer or bioinformatics specialist, to join a team focused on combatting the common human pathogen, herpes simplex virus. The successful applicant will drive independent bioinformatics analyses, as well as working closely with lab members on joint projects that include both computational and wet-bench components. Present research topics include RNAseq / transcriptomic analyses, novel algorithm development for comparative genomics, evolutionary analyses, and motif /pattern recognition approaches. Because we work on infectious diseases from the perspective of both the host and pathogen, the research involves genomic analyses of humans, microbes, and model organisms.
The successful candidate will interface with other bioinformatics and computational groups on campus, to develop best practices for each project. The candidate will be expected to program in common languages such as python or perl, to document their work using a version control system, to explain their approaches clearly to non-computational lab members, and to present their research at conferences and talks. The candidate will contribute to and co-author papers describing these projects, led by the PI. The candidate will utilize multiple resources in the lab and on campus, including an in-lab Illumina sequencer and shared high-performance computing clusters, and will lead interactions with campus coordinators of computational resources.
Desired qualifications
Familiarity with differential gene expression, Illumina and PacBio sequence analysis, algorithm development, pipeline creation. The ideal candidate will have a strong computational background with good knowledge of biology. The position requires the ability to work well in a team environment, communicate with people of varying skill levels, and adjust to the changing demands of science. Typically requires a Bachelor's degree or higher in a related field plus two years of experience, or an equivalent combination thereof.
Compensation
Level and salary will be commensurate with experience and determined after interview. Official HR information -- e.g. job description, salary, benefits -- can be found here: http://ohr.psu.edu/recruitment-and-compensation/ . The official job title advertised is Computational Scientist 2/3; this job profile is within "Research and Engineering").
Read more here
About one of our recent bioinformatics projects: http://news.psu.edu/story/303760/2014/02/14/research/quantifying-genomic-variation-herpes-viruses-crucial-step-toward
About our research goals: http://www.huck.psu.edu/about/news-archive/unique-pathogen-requires-novel-approach
About the lab: http://szparalab.psu.edu/
To apply
Please send a resume, cover letter, and list of references to moriah@psu.edu.
You can also apply via Penn State's official (but clunky) jobs site, by searching for job number 52572: http://psu.jobs/Search/Opportunities.html
