Postdoctoral positions for a statistician, a database programmer, and
an application programmer available


GENSCEND is an initiative based at the University of London and funded
by the Wellcome Trust. Its aim is to analyse the transcriptome of
single motor and olfactory neurons and reconstruct gene regulatory
events during critical stages of development in mouse and chick
embryos. The primary analysis tools are single cell microarrays and
computational methods of analysing microarray data and reconstructing
regulatory networks.

We are looking for a statistician for the microarry data analysis and
gene regulatory network reconstruction. A database programmer will
design and run the database collating microarray data and other
relevant data for a functional analysis (eg. genomic data,
transcription factors). The main task of the application programmer is
to provide interfaces and algorithms for data submission, analysis
tools, and the communication between the 5 different sites of the
consortium.

For more details please have a look at the job descriptions below or
at http://genscend.cryst.bbk.ac.uk

For further questions please contact
Lorenz Wernisch, email: [log in to unmask]

CVs (also per email) should be send to

              GENSCEND Initiative
              c/o Maureen Austin
              School of Crystallography
              Birkbeck College
              Malet Street
              London WC1E 7HX
              email: [log in to unmask]


----------------------------------------------------

The following 3 postdoctoral positions are available in the group of
Lorenz Wernisch (http://www.cryst.bbk.ac.uk/wernisch) at Birkbeck
College, University of London. Candidates should have a PhD or
extensive work experience in one of the areas of mathematics,
statistics, computer science, or physics.


STATISTICIAN

Two areas of analysis are central to the project: the analysis of gene
expression data and the reconstruction of gene regulatory
networks. The task is to mine the chip data for statistical signficant
changes and to build hypothetical networks based on the correlation
structure in the data and prior knowledge from other sources. The
experimental groups in the consortium can then test hypotheses about
specific relations of genes, and the results of the experiments will
be incorporated in the network building. The overall goal is the
construction of a detailed computational model of gene regulatory
processes responsible for the developmental differentiation in
neuronal cells.

The applicant should have a thorough knowledge of standard statistical
analysis techniques as well as experience in parameter estimation for
large data sets and complex models (eg by MCMC). Microarray analysis
and regulatory network reconstruction are an area of very active
research and an ability to do independent research is therefore
mandatory.

The post is for 3 years (extension possible) on level 3 of the
Wellcome Trust scale for research assistants (about 30,000 GBP per
year, for details see the Wellcome Trust Levels scales,
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/images/levels2001_5684.pdf).


DATABASE PROGRAMMER

The primary task of the database programmer is the design and
maintenance of a database for the storage of gene expression data and
other genomic resources that support gene expression analysis. The
database will be the primary repository for data generated and
analyses performed by all groups of the consortium. Schemas for such
microarray databases are publicly available but need adaptation to our
particular analysis approach, which is based an novel statistical
analysis methods and the reconstruction of regulatory gene
networks. This entails that data on genome sequences, transcription
factors, gene and protein interaction, and metabolic networks need to
be kept locally and updated as well. The programmer is also expected
to contribute to research how best to integrate and interpret such
heterogeneous data sources.

The applicant should have experience in database design and
maintenance. We prefer open source databases such as PostgreSQL in a
Unix environment. Some knowledge in Java is required too, which is the
preferred language for linking input and analysis tools to the
database.

The post is for 3 years (extension possible) on level 3 of the
Wellcome Trust scale for research assistants (about 30,000 GBP per
year, for details see the Wellcome Trust Levels scales,
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/images/levels2001_5684.pdf).


APPLICATION PROGRAMMER

The task of the programmer is to write interface programs for
submission of and the access to the data in the database (see
description for the database programmer), for access to the
statistical analysis tools, and for communication between the groups
in the consortium. Such interfaces need to be tailored to the needs of
researchers whose primary research tool is not the computer. A
challenging aspect of the project is the integration of advanced
analysis tools for gene expression data and the visual display of
analysis results. Mathematical packages like R, Matlab, or Maple, and
microarray analysis software need to be integrated too.

The applicant should have experience in programming user interfaces in
Java and HTML and will have to work closely with end-users to tune
these interfaces according to their needs.

The post is for 3 years on level 3 of the Wellcome Trust scale for
research assistants (about 30,000 GBP per year, for details see the
Wellcome Trust Levels scales,
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/images/levels2001_5684.pdf).


-----------
Lorenz Wernisch
School of Crystallography Tel +44 (0)20 7631 6831
Birkbeck College Fax +44 (0)20 7631 6803
University of London [log in to unmask]
Malet Street
London WC1E 7HX, UK Room E321/3078
-----------