International Consultant - Computational Biologist

We are in need of an international consultant who will conduct novel computational biology/bioinformatics analyses on QTL/GWAS to better understand traits of interest for RDA and determine blocks where co-regulation occurs in response to a trait. Project will run until 31 December 2023, with possibility of an extension.

This position will be based at the IRRI Headquarters, Los Baños, Philippines and is open for international applications.

The health and welfare of our staff is our top priority. We are currently operating with the majority of our workforce working from home. This position will be remote for the foreseeable future and will require a stable internet connection.

Responsibilities

• Identify QTL/GWAS genomic regions (for pre-harvest sprouting, high daytime temperature, antioxidants, and other traits)
• Catalog gene models across these regions, and their ascribed functions
• Perform enrichment analysis and apply other approaches to determine if plausible co-expression/regulation occurs
• Conduct network analyses of gene and/or protein interactions to identify putative involvement of other genes/proteins involved
• Utilize the corresponding tertiary protein structures from the Uni-Prot database (including the recently released Google DeepMind predictions across the entire rice genome) to model novel protein-protein interactions;
• Build hypotheses of gene/protein interactions, that can be experimentally validated by gene expression, proteomic, and other methods
• Assist in integrating relevant data into SNP-Seek
• Write manuscript(s), and assist in reporting obligations

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 5 years of relevant work experience; Master’s degree with 4 years relevant work experience; or PhD in any related field
• Experience in computational biology and bioinformatics; graduate level training in biochemistry (molecular and protein) and/or genetics such that interpretation of results is facile.

Skills Required

Mandatory

• Excellent analytical skills
• Computational and statistical skills
• Familiarity with R, network analyses, and Linux scripting
• Some knowledge on computer language (e.g. C, Python, Ruby)
• Excellent communication skills

For interested applicants, please apply directly through our IRRI job website.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.