Assistant Professor in Bioinformatics for Experimental Medicine

Bioinformatics group, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands.

 

Job description:

 

Over the last decades, medical research has been transformed by the increasing availability of –ome-wide measurements, such as the genome (CGH), transcriptome (mRNA) and these days the proteome and metabolome. Besides these, large databases available through the Internet (genomes, pathways, annotations etc.) are increasingly used. There is an increasing need for computer scientists to develop and apply algorithms to deal with these data streams and aid biological and medical researchers in their search for novel diagnostic, prognostic and treatment methods. In bioinformatics, research is performed to this end.

Two current trends are:

* Ongoing personalisation of medicine. It will soon be possible to read a patient’s genome, for a relatively small amount of money, in a relatively short time. Combined with other developments such as electronic patient records, this will enable patient-specific diagnosis and treatment (e.g. based on polymorphisms). Methods will have to be developed to interpret a unique, relatively small dataset (for a single patient) in the light of large datasets (of patient cohorts).

* A move towards translational research (translating basic molecular biology research into diagnostic tools and remedies) and experimental medicine (the study of disease mechanisms in the cell at the molecular level). Novel or refined measurement techniques such as exon and SNP arrays, BAC/tiling arrays and MS/MS allow for ever more fine-grained studies of (multi-factorial) disease mechanisms at the molecular level. Driven by huge quantities of data, such studies are necessarily discovery-based: integrating and interpreting the data can lead to biological hypotheses. Such hypotheses can be used to developed highly specifically targeted drugs (e.g. pharmacogenomics) or molecular interventions (e.g. gene therapy).

The assistant professor sought should contribute to the field of bioinformatics, specifically in support of personalised and experimental medicine.

 

Requirements:

 

The uniqueness of the Delft bioinformatics group stems from the fact that bioinformatics problems are approached from a data-driven perspective. The research of the assistant professor should therefore focus on developing novel and pioneering integrative data analysis tools - both fundamentally as well as on the algorithmic level. These tools should be applied to real problems encountered by the different medical/biological partners with whom the group collaborates. The candidate should have a well-founded basis in statistics (pattern recognition), computer science (data management) and molecular biology. The candidate should have a proven record in the field of bioinformatics and pattern recognition (machine learning). The candidate should have a PhD in a relevant discipline, such as mathematics, computer science, bio(techno)logy with a strong emphasis on these areas, or relevant subjects within physics or electrical engineering. 

 

Since bioinformatics is a multidisciplinary research field by nature, it is expected that the candidate has experiences with working in multidisciplinary teams. Further, the candidate is expected to launch novel research directions aimed at producing new biological insights. Therefore, the candidate should have excellent communication skills and a broad overview of the problem areas. The candidate should be an enthusiastic team player and posses good organization skills.

 

The candidate should have teaching experience and educational certificates are considered to be an advantage. The candidate is expected to contribute to the ‘Bioinformatics’, ‘Life Science’, and ‘Media and Knowledge Engineering’ MSc and BSc programs, as well as to a small number of post-doctoral courses. The candidate will also assist in the supervision of MSc and PhD students in the field of bioinformatics and pattern recognition. Finally, the candidate will be asked to follow a number of courses in education during the first years of the appointment, in order to develop basic educational skills.

 

Organisation:

 

The Bioinformatics group of the Delft University of Technology is part of the Dept. of Mediamatics of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science. The research within the group is done in close co-operation with several biomedical groups and two Genomics Centers of Excellence. Currently, relations exist with the Dutch Cancer Institure (NKI, Amsterdam), the Organon pharmaceutical company, Erasmus University Medical Center (Rotterdam) and Leiden University Medical Center (Leiden). Ties with the latter two are expected to be strengthened through the Health Science & Technology (HST) initiative of the Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam universities. It is important that the candidate extends these collaborations and starts new ones, building a network of biomedical partners.

 

 

Conditions of employment: 

 

The duration of the contract: Tenure track. The extend of this position has a maximum of 38 hours per week (1 fte). The estimated minimum salary per month for the Assistant Professor is based on salary scale 11 (with a maximum of € 4140,- per month gross, based on a 38th hour working week). Benefits and other employment conditions are according to the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.

 

Information and application:

 

For further details on the position you are welcome to contact prof. dr. ir. M.J.T. Reinders, telephone number: +31 (0)15 278 6424 ([log in to unmask]) or dr. ir. D. de Ridder, telephone number: +31 (0)15 278 5114 ([log in to unmask]). For more information on the bioinformatics group please visit http://ict.ewi.tudelft.nl (research theme: Bioinformatics)

 

To apply, please send a detailed CV together with a letter of motivation before 15-10-2006 to Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, to the attention of W.A. Maertens, Mekelweg 4 2628 CD Delft, the Netherlands, or send an e-mail to [log in to unmask] When applying for this vacancy please always mention vacancy number EWI 2006.33.

 

More information about Delft University of Technology is available at www.tudelft.nl. Information about the department can be found at http://mm.ewi.tudelft.nl.