Sanford Burnham Prebys is a preeminent, independent biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding human biology and disease, and advancing scientific discoveries to profoundly impact human health.

A full-time, academically minded staff-level BIOINFORMATICS SCIENTIST position is available in Dr. Jerold Chun’s lab. The position will be central to several teams in the lab that require bioinformatics and will interface with current bioinformatics personnel. The Chun lab is located at the heart of the biomedical research hub in La Jolla, California, and the position encompasses ongoing collaborations with UCSD, other academic institutions, and pharmaceutical partners.  The focus of this position will be bioinformatic approaches to understanding mosaic neural genomes – RNA and DNA – in single cells of the brain.  Representative publications:

1. NEURONAL SUBTYPES AND DIVERSITY REVEALED BY SINGLE-NUCLEUS RNA SEQUENCING OF THE HUMAN BRAIN Science 2016 Vol. 352 Issue 6293 Pages 1586-90. PMC5038589
2. INTEGRATIVE SINGLE-CELL ANALYSIS OF TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND EPIGENETIC STATES IN THE HUMAN ADULT BRAIN Nat Biotechnol 2018 Vol. 36 Issue 1 Pages 70-80. PMC5951394
3. SUBMEGABASE COPY NUMBER VARIATIONS ARISE DURING CEREBRAL CORTICAL NEUROGENESIS AS REVEALED BY SINGLE-CELL WHOLE-GENOME SEQUENCING Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018 Vol. 115 Issue 42 Pages 10804-10809. PMC6196524
4. SOMATIC APP GENE RECOMBINATION IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND NORMAL NEURONS. Nature 2018 Vol. 563 Issue 7733 Pages 639-645.  PMC6391999

Primary Responsibilities

• Analyze next generation sequencing (NGS, short-read) and especially third generation sequencing (long-read) datasets (genomic and transcriptomic)
• Develop new informatic approaches and pipelines in coordination with other researchers in the lab
• Help to maintain and update existing informatics pipelines and lab Github repository
• Manage and organize large sequencing datasets produced by the lab

Required Skills Required Experience

• Master’s degree in Bioinformatics, Biostatistics or Life Sciences plus three years direct experience or an equivalent combination of education, training and/or experience from which comparable knowledge, skills and abilities have been attained, is required
• Five years of experience after Master's is preferred
• Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Biostatistics or Life Sciences is preferred
• Experience customizing pipelines, algorithms, and quality control metrics for data analysis
• Experience with long-read sequencing (Pacific Biosciences and/or Oxford Nanopore Technologies) and analysis
• Experience with single-cell sequencing (10x Genomics) and analysis

Knowledge, Skills and/or Abilities:

• Mastery of command line operations and Linux/Unix operating environments
• Familiarity with high performance computing cluster-based analysis
• Fluency with coding in python, R, and similar languages
• Knowledge of next generation sequencing toolsets (fastqc, STAR, bwa, samtools, GATK, etc.)
• Familiarity with NCBI, UCSC Genome browser, Integrated Genomics Viewer
• Attention to detail with accuracy
• Ability to communicate effectively and to work in a fast-paced environment
• Good interpersonal skills
• Embody the Institute’s core values of Commitment, Collaboration, Communication, Community and Compassion

The scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute are making research breakthroughs in cancer, neuroscience, immunology, and children's disease. We are also at the forefront of finding solutions for health threats such as COVID-19, where we are working to identify drugs that may help millions of people. During our more than 40 year history, we have established an NCI-designated Cancer Center, designed one of the most sophisticated drug discovery centers in the nonprofit world, and created global collaborations that are leading to preventions, treatments and cures to improve human health. 

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute is an Equal Opportunity employer – M/F/Veteran/Disability – committed to the hiring, advancement and fair treatment of all individuals. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other protected status as designated by federal, state or local law. For additional information about your rights as an applicant, click HERE.

General knowledge to set up and maintain a variety of single function, hand and foot automated bindery machines, such as staplers, punches, drills and binding-glue devices.  Under the direction of the operator, apply working knowledge assist in the set-up of more complicated binding machinery.  Ability to make machine adjustments for differences in paper size or thickness, hole or margin distances, paper folds or other work requirements or material characteristics.  Knowledge of basic arithmetic and fractions.  Ability to apply such knowledge while accurately locating materials on machine surfaces.  Skill in using hand tools (i.e. rulers, screwdrivers, wrenches) to make machine adjustments.  Ability to set up, arrange, and hand collate as well as to fan, jog and stack various sizes of paper neatly.