Research Associate in Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology

Job description

We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled Research Associate to assess the links between socioeconomic deprivation, gut microbiome composition and inflammation.

Specific inflammatory pathways involved in the development of premature frailty/unhealthy ageing are upregulated in individuals who experience deprivation compared to people who do not. Many of these pathways are influenced by the gut microbiome. Identifying and characterising these pathways will help develop targeted interventions, focused on gut microbiome modulation using probiotic/prebiotic supplementation.

Taking advantage of the richly phenotyped TwinsUK cohort with Olink proteomic profiling and gut microbiome composition, the candidate will explore the association between deprivation, inflammation, frailty and gut microbiome composition.       Causal validation of the inflammatory pathways will then be assessed using a two-sample Mendelian Randomisation (MR) design using data from  published genome wide association studies (GWAS) as well as from the UK Biobank.

The successful candidate should have a solid background in bio-informatics, statistics, and epidemiology allowing them to analyse and interpret large data sets. In addition, the candidate should already have an excellent track record in writing, analysing and publishing research articles, as well as experience in interpreting microbiome and proteomics data. They should be hard working, flexible and able to work in a multi-disciplinary team.

This post will be offered on an a fixed-term contract till 31st October 2024.

This is a full-time post - 100% full time equivalent.

Key responsibilities

Key objectives:

• To employ appropriate epidemiological methods and statistical techniques to the twin data and to the UK Biobank data
• To assist with the writing of publications for appropriate scientific journals and to present research findings at scientific meetings.
• Participate in all project meetings, including symposia and workshop.
• Participate in and contribute to the development and implementation of research programmes relevant to the work undertaken within the department.
• Contribute to the integration and collaboration of research project with other branches of the department and with external collaborators.
• Any other duties as agreed with the supervisor.

Communication & networking:

• To collaborate closely with the University of Nottingham to achieve the highest standard of research and publications.
• To assist with teaching of staff and students in methods of statistical and  bioinformatics analysis.
• Prepare papers for steering group as well as manuscripts, abstracts and grant applications.
• Write up results of your own research
• Liaise with internal and external research colleagues and support staff on research matters
• Make internal and external contacts to develop knowledge and understanding and form relationships for future collaboration
• Communicate material of a specialist or highly technical nature

Decision making, planning & problem solving:

• Plan own day to day activity within the framework of the project and co-ordinate own work with that of others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
• Make use of standard research techniques and methods
• Deal with problems which may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Contribute to collaborative decisions making affecting the work of the team
• Identify areas for research, develop new research methods and extend the research portfolio

Service delivery:

• Provide answers to specialist queries within the area of statistical analysis within microbiome and twin research, providing detailed information and a range of solutions
• Deal with internal and external collaborators
• Respond to requests for information in accordance with departmental and College policies

Analysis & research:

• To keep up to date with recent relevant literature in the areas of microbiome analyses epidemiology, statistics, and computational biology
• To identify areas where further research may be needed
• Analyse and interpret the results of research undertaken and draw conclusions on the outcome
• Assist in the writing of grant application for future research undertaken within the department

Team work, teaching & learning support:

• Actively participate as a member of the microbiome and omics statistical analysis team
• Collaborate with academic colleagues on areas of shared research interest
• Attend and contribute to relevant meetings
• To assist with the teaching of staff and students in computational methods and assist with epigenetic and genetic analysis techniques
• Be involved in the assessment of student knowledge and supervision of projects
• Assist in the development of student research skills
• To demonstrate a willingness to develop personal objectives via regular appraisals with the supervisor

Sensory/physical demands & work environment:

• Carry out tasks that require the learning of certain skills
• Required to be aware of the risks in the work environment

Pastoral care:

• Show consideration to others at all times, decision making, planning & problem solving:
• Plan own day to day activity within the framework of the project and co-ordinate own work with that of others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
• Make use of standard research techniques and methods
• Deal with problems which may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Contribute to collaborative decisions making affecting the work of the team
• Identify areas for research, develop new research methods and extend the research portfolio

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 awarded in bio-informatics, statistics, epidemiology, system biology, mathematical science or other related quantitative discipline
2. Excellent programming skills that include knowledge of R and other programming languages (python/perl/C), and use of statistical and genetic analysis packages
3. Excellent computational skills and experience with high performance computing clusters
4. Proficient with analysis of large-scale datasets using the appropriate statistical methods
5. Good working knowledge of Mendelian Randomisation and/or causal mediation methods
6. Ability to communicate effectively at all levels in a complex multi-disciplinary environment with the ability to produce concise verbal and written reports
7. Excellent Publication record in the field of microbiome/proteomics/metabolomics
8. Experience with the development and implementation of software for computationally intensive analyses
9. Ability to work on own initiative and meet competing and demanding deadlines
10. Ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team

Desirable criteria

1. Contacts with the local bioinformatics and statistical community
2. Experience with twin studies

* 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.