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Post Doctoral Research Associate

Employer
KINGS COLLEGE LONDON
Location
London (Greater) (GB)
Salary
£38,304 - £40,414 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance
Closing date
5 Jan 2022

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Academic Discipline
Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, Life sciences
Job Type
Research Related
Contract Type
Fixed Term
Hours
Full Time, Part Time

Job Details

Job description

 

We are seeking an enthusiastic postgraduate with a PhD in statistical genetics, or a related analytical and computational field, to work in genetic studies of psychiatric disorders. In this exciting role, you will work with the international Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC ;   https://www.med.unc.edu/pgc/ ) across three disorders (major depressive disorder (MDD), eating disorders and anxiety) to identify the genetic underpinnings of these mental health disorders. Funded by the NIH to continue a decade of highly successful  PGC research, you will work with Cathryn Lewis, Gerome Breen and Thalia Eley in the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre, and their research groups.  

 

We strive to be a diverse research environment that is open, welcoming and supportive to all. Faculty-wide initiatives are supported by an active Diversity & Inclusion Team.  Our research groups are predominantly from white backgrounds, and we particularly welcome applications from individuals of any other race or ethnicity background (E.g. Black, Asian, Latinx).

 

The succesful applicant will analyse genetic and clinical datasets shared with the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and external datasets, such as UK Biobank. You will have the opportunity to collaborate closely with other statistical genetics analysts in the SGDP Centre, and internationally through the PGC.  You will be responsible for specific projects within the MDD, Eating disorders and Anxiety PGC working groups performing genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis and applying post-GWAS methods.  Specific projects include polygenic score studies, identifying genetic predictors for treatment response, integrating environmental risk factors, dissecting genetic heterogeneity, amd analysing dimensional measures of anxiety. These studies will provide the next generation of psychiatric genomics studies to uncover the genetic contribution to disorder risk and treatment response. 

You will report to Professor Cathryn Lewis, working closely with other SGDP academics (Thalia Eley, Gerome Breen) and researchers within our teams to perform this research. The SGDP Centre is highly supportive of career development for postdoctoral researchers: you will have the opportunity to develop independence and support to apply for fellowship funding.  Experience with analysis of genetic studies is required, with high level statistical and computational skills.  Previous experience of psychiatric traits is not necessary.

 

This post will be offered on an a fixed-term contract for 3 years 

This is a full-time post, but applications for a part-time role are welcomed

 

Key responsibilities

Key responsibilities  

•        Conduct genetic and genomic analysis of mental health data in MDD, eating disorders and anxiety in PGC and local studies  

•        Engage in data management and data preparation to support other PGC analysts  

•        Lead analyses and write scientific publications arising from the research, serving as first author  

•        Work collaboratively with team members at the SGDP Centre and in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium  

•        Contribute to supervision of MSc and PhD students 

•        Present results of analyses to team members, to the PGC, and at scientific conferences  

•        Undertake reproducible analysis in an open science framework, developing analysis pipelines and using github repositories.  

 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.  

Skills, knowledge, and experience 

Essential criteria  

  1. PhD in statistical/psychiatric/behavioural genetics or allied academic area with strong analysis component
  2. Excellent R programming and linux/unix skills with use of github
  3. Experience in analysis of genetic data and genome-wide association studies
  4. Previous analysis of large genetic and clinical data sets  
  5. Excellent attention to detail (e.g. in data management and reporting results)  
  6. Strong interpersonal and written communication skills, with ability to discuss research findings and methods to audiences of different backgrounds 
  7. Experience of writing and publishing papers reporting genetic analyses of mental health or other complex traits
  8. Previous involvement in collaborative team science

 

Desirable criteria

1.      Active interest in supporting a diverse research environment  

2.      Commitment to open science through reproducible analysis pipelines and github repository.  

3.      Previous experience of mental health research 

 

Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

Company

King's College London is one of the top 20 universities in the world and among the oldest in England. King's has more than 27,600 students (of whom nearly 10,500 are graduate students) from some 150 countries worldwide, and some 6,800 staff.

King's has an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) King’s was ranked 6th nationally in the ‘power’ ranking, which takes into account both the quality and quantity of research activity, and 7th for quality according to Times Higher Education rankings. Eighty-four per cent of research at King’s was deemed ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (3* and 4*). The university is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of more than £684 million.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar.

King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: www.kingshealthpartners.org.

King’s £600 million campaign, World questions|KING’s answers, has delivered huge global impact in areas where King’s has particular expertise. Philanthropic support has funded new research to save young lives at Evelina London Children’s Hospital; established the King’s Dickson Poon School of Law as a worldwide leader in transnational law; built a new Cancer Centre at Guy’s Hospital; allowed unique collaboration between leading neuroscientists to fast-track new treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, motor neurone disease, depression and schizophrenia at the new Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute; created the Cicely Saunders Institute: the first academic institution in the world dedicated to palliative care, and supported the King’s Sierra Leone Partnership in the Ebola crisis. Donations provide over 300 of the most promising students with scholarships and bursaries each year. More information about the campaign is available at www.kcl.ac.uk/kingsanswers.

Company info
Mini-site
KINGS COLLEGE LONDON
Telephone
+(44)02078365454
Location
STRAND
LONDON
WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

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