Research Associate; Molecular Ecology​/Bioinformatics

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This post will primarily support the work of the NERC Environmental Omics Facility (NEOF), based in the Genomics Laboratory of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology cluster in the School of Biosciences, but also a number of research projects based in the Laboratory. The Genomics Laboratory is led by Professor Terry Burke and the NEOF Visitor Facility is led by Professor Jon Slate.

NEOF in Sheffield supports environmental omics research across the UK, with responsibility for supporting the laboratory work of users who access the NEOF Visitor Facility. Visiting researchers receive training while undertaking their own analyses. NEOF supports a range of molecular techniques to tackle research questions in environmental, ecological and evolutionary biology, but has expertise in genome sequencing, marker analysis, population genomics, evolutionary genetics, pedigree analysis, metabarcoding and the detection and interpretation of environmental DNA and RNA.

It has outstanding facilities and equipment to support this work, including access to a full range of sequencing, genotyping and DNA preparation technologies, robotics, clean rooms and high-performance computing.

The appointee will deliver existing online and in-person regular training courses in a range of bioinformatics, develop new training modules, assist NEOF users with the analysis of their datasets, and contribute to research projects including, for example, the detection of rare or endangered species in environmental samples, using low-coverage genome sequencing methods in studies of avian life history, assembling de-novo genomes, and investigating the role of inversions in natural populations of non-model species.

Applicants should have a PhD (or be close to completion / have equivalent postdoctoral level work experience) in molecular ecology or evolutionary genetics, including genetic analyses (for example, diet analysis, studies of biodiversity, eDNA, population structure, mating systems, linkage mapping, genome assembly, comparative genomics or phylogenetics) and possess excellent analytical skills. Programming skills (e.g., Linux, R, PYTHON or PERL) and experience of high-performance computing clusters are also essential.

• Liaise with the Director of the NEOF Visitor Facility in Sheffield and Facility staff in Sheffield and Liverpool over work schedules and progress

• Support NEOF staff and users with data analysis and bioinformatics

• Deliver and develop training in the analysis of genomic data

• Provide feedback on enquiries and applications to use the Facility, including cost estimates

• Provide feedback on Facility-supported work and manuscripts

• Produce optimised easy-to-follow protocols and pipelines or computer scripts to enable staff and users with appropriate statistical and molecular population genetic tools

• Establish and maintain appropriate databases for managing and curating NEOF and Genomics Facility data, samples, and projects

• Ensure that the tools used by the Facility remain at the cutting edge and keep up to date with latest techniques and analyses

• Conduct agreed research and development activities that lead to published outputs

• Continuously monitor and check progress of Facility projects; the unpredictability of research means that daily planning needs to accommodate new developments

• Assist with the administration of NEOF and lab activities in the University’s High-Performance Computing facility

• Represent NEOF at occasional external activities such as workshops and conferences

• Other tasks to ensure the efficient functioning, success, and development of the NEOF Visitor Facility and the host laboratory, as required

• As a member of staff you will be encouraged to make ethical decisions in your role, embedding the University sustainability strategy into your working activities wherever possible.

• Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and…