Research Associate

The Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy in the Cumming School of Medicine invites applications for a Research Associate. This Full-time, Fixed Term position is for approximately 12 months, with the possibility of extension.

Reporting to the Principal Investigator, we are seeking a Research Associate for the animal model deep phenotyping core for One Child Every Child, a Canada First Research Excellence Program based at the University of Calgary. This position involves generating, processing, and managing high-throughput phenomic data. The research associate will perform different tasks of varying degrees of complexity, including developing and running automated image processing pipelines, processing and analyzing imaging datasets, and curating large-scale phenomic databases with extensive metadata. A core objective for the Research Associate will be developing the back-end code for an online web application that can store, acquire, analyze, and aggregate phenomic data. This will require methodological innovation and close collaboration with the supervisor, other internal collaborators, and external collaborators. In addition, the Research Associate will be responsible for completing time-sensitive imaging informatic tasks for various grants. Participation in shared lab-related work, such as lab meetings, student and visitor training, meeting arrangements, and other teamwork activities, is expected.

One Child Every Child is a Parallel Paths project that has Indigenous and non-Indigenous Paths. While this position will not involve direct interaction with human participants or human subjects data, all members of the program will perform training on work with Indigenous people, communities and data. Experience with Indigenous community-based work is an asset for all members of the OCEC research team.

Summary of Key Responsibilities (job functions include but are not limited to):

• Develop, implement, and evaluate novel machine learning-based methods for real-time image processing and analysis
• Work collaboratively with team members to advance software development for large-scale phenomics. Act as a resource for colleagues with less experience.
• Collect, standardize, and analyze imaging data to accomplish grant research aims
• Application of programming languages such as Python, Linux bash, R, and Git
• Develop back-end code for an online web application that can store, acquire, analyze, and aggregate phenomic data
• Curate and manage large-scale databases and ensure that standards are met
• Train other staff and students how to deploy technical workflows
• Act as a resource and in-scope supervisor for junior staff members and graduate students
• Apply concepts and methods from biomedicine, medical image analysis, machine learning, and data science to guide ongoing internal and external research collaborations with respect to large-scale phenomics databases
• As a subject matter expert, contribute to project planning and management, including requirements gathering, project scheduling, and risk management. May lead small projects with manageable risks and resource requirements.
• Provide weekly updates to supervisor and internal/external collaborators to ensure effective and timely completion of tasks
• Demonstrate strong communication, team and customer service skills, and an ability to exercise judgment within established guidelines

Qualifications / Requirements:

• Doctoral degree in Bioinformatics is required
• Minimum of 3-5 years of related technical experience within the fields of comparative biology, bioinformatics, phenotypic analyses, and craniofacial developmental biology is required
• Advanced education and experience in bioinformatics, RNAseq analyses, QTL and GWAS mapping, and quantitative genetics is required
• Advanced programming skills in imaging informatics and statistics using Bash, Python, R, and/or Julia is required
• Previous experience working with large-scale databases (e.g., SQL) and biomedical imaging data is required
• Previous experience working with compute clusters (e.g., Digital Research Alliance of Canada) is required
• Knowledge and experience working with mouse models, including husbandry, handling, and breeding is required
• Previous experience mentoring and/or teaching at the graduate or undergraduate level
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Experience working and collaborating with international and diverse research groups
• Knowledge and/or experience in IT infrastructure (networking, data storage) is valuable
• Strong communication, team and customer service skills, and an ability to exercise judgment within established guidelines
• Knowledge of University core business systems is desirable

Application Deadline: January 28, 2025

About the University of Calgary

UCalgary is Canada’s entrepreneurial university, located in Canada’s most enterprising city. It is a top research university and one of the highest-ranked universities of its age. Founded in 1966, its 36,000 students experience an innovative learning environment, made rich by research, hands-on experiences and entrepreneurial thinking. It is Canada’s leader in the creation of start-ups. Start something today at the University of Calgary. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.

The University of Calgary has launched an institution-wide Indigenous Strategy committing to creating a rich, vibrant, and culturally competent campus that welcomes and supports Indigenous Peoples, encourages Indigenous community partnerships, is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives in all that we do.

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