Molecular Virology & Microbiology - Petrosino (Instructor)
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX 77030
Description
Baylor College of Medicine and Department Summary:
The Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research Center (CMMR) is an integral part of the Baylor College of Medicine strategic plan and serves as a hub for translational microbiome research by providing expertise in microbiome study design, sample collection and processing, commensal cultivation, metagenomic sequencing and analytical tool development. Over the past 14 years, we’ve collaborated on more than 500 projects with over 300 research groups worldwide. These projects include diverse body sites and sample types, each project posing different analytical questions that need to be addressed, often requiring customized pipelines. In 2022 the CMMR was contracted by the Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute (TEPHI) to help create a statewide Texas Wastewater Environmental Biomonitoring (TexWEB) network that serves as a catch-all for microbial detection, infectious disease prevention and pandemic preparedness. The task was to develop a sequencing and analysis pipeline aimed at monitoring and characterizing the wastewater virome in samples from across Texas.
Summary
The CMMR is seeking a capable and experienced researcher to join the Service Center teams working on large, diverse virome projects and metagenomic datasets. In this role the candidate will be responsible project management from sample intake to data delivery, including interaction with stakeholders and presentation of data. The ideal candidate can also assist in advising development and implementation of data processing and analysis plans based on stakeholders’ research demands. Support will be available from the Wet Lab and Bioinformatics teams for pipeline development, but the candidate will ensure that deliverables are met and disseminated back to the stakeholders. The project deliverables are on a strict timeline, so the ability to quickly implement and adapt new approaches and algorithms will be paramount. The role is primarily onsite, with the potential for a hybrid work schedule.
Job Duties
- Contribute to the implementation of sequencing and analysis activity to ensure research projects are completed on schedule and according to project specifications.
- Contribute to sequencing pipeline optimization.
- Discuss all project requirements with collaborators prior to initiation to ensure success. Prepare and execute analysis plan based on project scope and collaborator specifications.
- Generate data visualizations.
- Meet with collaborators on a regular basis to discuss results and present data analysis.
- Facilitate communication with scientific collaborators and maintain relationships in a proactive fashion.
- Identify opportunities for recruitment of new collaborators.
- Create project schedules and maintain them through the project lifecycle.
- Contribute to troubleshooting with laboratory staff as needed to develop mitigation plans.
- Contribute to manuscript preparation and grant writing.
Minimum Qualifications
- Master’s degree in a related field.
- Four years of relevant experience.
Preferred Qualifications
- PhD in a scientific discipline
- Broad knowledge of biology, especially virology and metagenomics
- Requires excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
- Requires the exercise of tact and diplomacy in dealing with faculty, staff and students.
- Must be proficient in the use of statistical and data visualization software (such as R, python).
- Project and data management skills.
- Experience with large genomic data sets (Next-generation, metagenomic, genotyping, or expression data), data mining, and data analysis
Baylor College of Medicine is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Equal Access Employer.
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