Assistant Research Officer-Bioinformatics at KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP)

JOB PURPOSE: 

KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) is one of the leading research centres in Africa. The Programme engages in a wide range of research on the main causes of ill health in Africa. We are seeking to appoint a research officer or assistant in the field of bioinformatics or molecular biology to work in the Biosciences department. The successful candidate will be part of a research team seeking to understand HIV B-cell biology to inform HIV vaccine development. The candidate will be involved in bioinformatics analysis of HIV-antigen specific immunoglobulin gene usage and naïve B cell repertoires mainly in African populations. The incumbent will also provide bioinformatics support for other ongoing immunological work within the group. He/she will require solid knowledge of bioinformatics, ability to write and execute codes and develop custom analysis suites for projects. Additional knowledge in molecular biology techniques will be an added advantage. This work is part of a five-year (2022 - 2026) collaborative programme with IAVI and several clinical research centres in Africa and is funded by USAID. The incumbent will have an opportunity to interact and work as part of the larger bioinformatics team within the IAVI consortium.

Description: 

REPORTS TO: Group lead Postdoc and to the Principal Investigator

BUDGET AND FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Will be responsible for a laptop, data storage and together with the PI, manage budget allocated for bioinformatics analysis.

JOB DIMENSIONS:

KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) is one of the leading research centres in Africa. The Programme engages in a wide range of research on the main causes of ill health in Africa. We are seeking to appoint a research officer or assistant in the field of bioinformatics or molecular biology to work in the Biosciences department. The successful candidate will be part of a research team seeking to understand HIV B-cell biology to inform HIV vaccine development. The candidate will be involved in bioinformatics analysis of HIV-antigen specific immunoglobulin gene usage and naïve B cell repertoires mainly in African populations. The incumbent will also provide bioinformatics support for other ongoing immunological work within the group. He/she will require solid knowledge of bioinformatics, ability to write and execute codes and develop custom analysis suites for projects. Additional knowledge in molecular biology techniques will be an added advantage. This work is part of a five-year (2022 - 2026) collaborative programme with IAVI and several clinical research centres in Africa and is funded by USAID. The incumbent will have an opportunity to interact and work as part of the larger bioinformatics team within the IAVI consortium.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Perform bioinformatics analysis of large sequencing data sets generated on diverse platforms (NextSeq, MiSeq and NovaSeq).
• Co-ordinate data transfer, processing and analysis with collaborators.
• Participate in technology transfer from collaborating laboratories.
• Participate in the design of exploratory analysis approaches and bioinformatics pipelines. 
• Perform basic molecular biology procedures to generate sequencing libraries.
• Present project results at different forums.
• Contribute to the writing of scientific manuscripts.
• Ensure that all work done complies with the applicable regulations concerning biohazards, data privacy, Good Clinical and Laboratory Practice and maintain all documentation.
• And any other duties that may be assigned from time to time.

QUALIFICATION:

• Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology or Bioinformatics
• Extensive hands-on experience in Bioinformatics and computational analysis or a Masters’ degree in Bioinformatics/Data science will be an added advantage.
• Proficiency in programming in Python and software development stacks
• Proficiency with the Pandas Data Library and Jupiter Software Ecosystem
• Experience in analysing large next-generation sequencing data.
• Experience in using various analytical packages such as STATA and R

COMPETENCIES:

• Keen interest in research
• Excellent analytical and quantitative skills
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to present and summarise results for reporting and publication.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Team working skills with the ability to work in a multi-cultural setting.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT:

• Based at the KEMRI/Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya but be flexible to travel to other partner or collaborating institutions.
• Be available to work out of hours if necessary.
• Exposure to materials considered infectious and/or biohazards.