Parkinson’s disease researchers at UCL are launching a new study to understand causes and progression of the disease, with the aim of finding new approaches to treatment. The study is among 21 international projects receiving new funding from the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative. ASAP is partnering with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to implement its programs and issue these grants.
Applications are invited for a Research Fellow (Bioinformatics-Genetics and Genomics) to join the ASAP (MJFF) funded project - Mapping the PD brain: Oligomer-driven functional genomics led by Prof Nicholas Wood. The research team at UCL includes Prof Sonia Gandhi, and Prof Mina Ryten. The team also includes physical chemistry with groups led by Dr Steve Lee and Prof Michele Vendruscolo from the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge.
The successful candidate will be self-directed with excellent research and project management skills, capable of working collaboratively in a team of researchers, while maintaining independent thinking and initiative. The successful applicant will work at the interface between interpreting transcriptomic analyses and genetic data from GWAS (and other genetic and genomic studies). They will work closely with other scientists to build, evaluate and interrogate a functional searchable network (map) to identify valid targets. They will join part of a team of scientist working across several disciplines- including super-resolution microscopy, genetics and genomics, network theory and iPSc biology (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ion/uk-parkinsons-disease-consortium-ukpdc).
Applicants should have a PhD in Neuroscience, Genetics, Biostatistics, Mathematics, Physics or related discipline and experience with computational biology, ideally high throughout sequence data analysis. The ability to work within a diverse group including computational and experimental neurobiologists, strong problem-solving abilities and the ability to write clearly and succinctly for publication is essential. The ability to present research findings with authority and coherence to a variety of audiences is also a requirement. Experience of Python and MATLAB B, of using programming languages: R, of advanced statistics and of neuroscience is desirable.
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact Samantha Robinson, HR Officer, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, 23 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG (email: ion.hradmin@ucl.ac.uk).
