Associate Data Scientist

The mission of The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is to eliminate cancer in Texas, the nation, and the world through outstanding programs that integrate patient care, research and prevention, and through education for undergraduate and graduate students, trainees, professionals, employees and the public.
Were seeking a highly motivated enthusiastic candidate to join our data team and contribute to cutting-edge, pan-cancer, and translational microbiome research at MD Anderson's Platform for Innovative Microbiome and Translational Research (PRIME-TR). PRIME-TR is MD Anderson's hub for microbiome research that aims to develop, enable, and support translational projects from protocol design to data analysis.
The primary purpose of this position (Associate Data Scientist) is to develop analytical frameworks to answer microbiome-cancer questions. This will be accomplished by leveraging in-house bioinformatic and statistical expertise, existing tools, and by thinking creatively on how to develop the next generation of tools to address unanswered questions. Candidates should have knowledge on statistics and should be willing to learn and develop new methods and frameworks if no ideal approach exits for the problem at hand.
Ideal candidates should understand the nuances of curating clinical and multi-dimensional metadata to streamline analyses. Also, candidates should be able to manage multiple projects at a time, report on projects periodically, and effectively communicate signals embedded in the data through various combinations of data summary statistics, visualizations, etc. internally and to collaborators.
In addition, this role requires excellent written and verbal communication, effective judgment and problem solving, an ability to work independently and collaboratively, a relevant research background, and an interest in translational research. Strong attention to detail, multi-tasking, and a willingness to learn new technologies is encouraged.
Successful applicants should have strong expertise in bioinformatics, biostatistics, and data visualization tools as well as vast knowledge on next-generation sequencing methods and the use of large and sparse datasets related to microbiome research. Bioinformatic programming languages and skills (R, Perl, Python, etc.) and knowledge on commonly used bioinformatic, statistical, and data visualization tools in the microbiome space such as QIIME, MetaPhlAn, HUMAnN, LEfSe or others alike is required. In addition, excellent written and verbal communication; effective judgment and problem solving, ability to work independently and collaboratively, and a research background in immunology and cancer, and have an interest in translational research. Strong attention to detail, multi- tasking; and a willingness to learn new technologies is encouraged.
KEY FUNCTIONS
•Participation in the design, implementation and evaluation of collaborative microbiome research studies.
•Analyzing, visualizing, and interpreting preclinical and clinical microbiome data.
•Creating publication quality figures and tables.
•Assisting with raw and analyzed data organization, management, and submission to repositories.
•Assisting with manuscript and grant preparation.
•Maintaining a legible and self-explanatory scientific notebook and presenting results during lab meetings and at appropriate scientific conferences.
•Working with teams of individuals to integrate data / metadata
•Independently plans, organizes, coordinates, directs various computational data and develops and implements novel analytical pipelines for sequencing data statistical evaluation and visualization
•Applies statistical tests for associations, differences, survival analyses, and regressions.
•Assists with computational data on a daily basis to include:
write and edit manuscripts, figures, abstracts, protocols (animal and laboratory), and grants; compile, write, and submit reports to the principal, analyze and manipulate research data; prepare and present data for publication or scientific meetings; maintain current and accurate records of research data; and obtain and distribute pertinent research materials/data.
•Ability to collect, analyze, interpret and present data at laboratory, departmental
meetings, and at other institutional collaborator meetings, including those involving
donors.
•Records and evaluates data obtained in accordance with methods requested.
•Contributes to project team.
•Work in a clinical and research setting
•Employ safe laboratory practices.
•Reads literature and confers with supervisor regarding new procedures.
•Performs other duties as assigned.
•Interacts closely with other research staff across institutional functional teams.
•Gather relevant information systematically; break down problems into simple components; make sound decisions
•Recognize simple cause and effect relationships. Diagnose problems by breaking them down into simple tasks or activities.
COMPETENCIES
Analytical Thinking
- Gather relevant information systematically; break down problems into simple components; make sound decisions.
Innovative Thinking
- Approach problems with curiosity and open-mindedness; offer new ideas, solutions and/or options.
Team with Others
- Initiate, develop, and manage relationships and networks.
- Encourage collaboration and input from all team members, value the contributions of all team members; balance individual and team goals.
Service Orientation
Provide service to our stakeholders, including patients, caregivers, colleagues and each other, in a safe, courteous, accountable, efficient and innovative manner to include:
•Promoting inclusiveness and collegiality that demonstrates respect and professionalism to our stakeholders at all times
•Modeling safe, ethical behavior that mitigates risk to the institution through sound business practices, and adherence to MD Anderson's Standards of Conduct, institutional policies and procedures
•Responding to requests in a timely manner while proactively communicating expectations for procedures, service arrival, or project deliverables to stakeholders
•Using the steps to HEAL (Hear, Empathize, Address and Learn) the relationship when service recovery is needed
Working Conditions
Laboratory environment
This position requires:
Working in Office Environment
No
X_ Yes
Working in Patient Care Unit (e.g. Nursing unit; outpatient clinic)
_X_ No
Yes
Exposure to human/animal blood, body fluids, or tissues
XNo
Yes
Exposure to harmful chemicals
XNo
Yes
Exposure to radiation
_X_ No
Yes
Physical Demands
Indicate the time required to do each of the following physical demands:
Time Spent
Never
0%
Occasionally
1-33%
Frequently
34-66%
Continuously
67-100%
Standing
X
Walking
X
Sitting
X
Reaching
X
Lifting/Carrying
Up to 10 lbs.
X
10lbs to 50 lbs.
X
More than 50 lbs.
X
Pushing/Pulling
Up to 10 lbs.
X
10lbs to 50 lbs.
X
More than 50 lbs.
X
Use computer/keyboard
X
EDUCATION:
Required: Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Computational Biology, or related field.
Preferred: Master's or a Ph.D. degree in biomedical sciences or a related field.
EXPERIENCE:
Required: Two years experience in scientific software development/analysis.
Preferred: Scientific software implementation and development/analysis in the microbiome field.
Ideal Candidate:
•Will have considerable computational and statistical experience in the microbiome field.
•Must be highly motivated, reliable, responsible, well organized and a careful record keeper with good attention to details.
•Excellent communication skills are required as well as the ability to work well in a collaborative and interdisciplinary team environment.
It is the policy of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to provide equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other basis protected by institutional policy or by federal, state or local laws unless such distinction is required by law. http://www.mdanderson.org/about-us/legal-and-policy/legal-statements/eeo-affirmative-action.html