Job Description:

Job Description

OVERVIEW/ OVERALL RESPONSIBILITY:

The Khera Laboratory - based within the Cardiovascular Disease Initiative at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the Center for Genomic Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) - is seeking exceptional computational scientists in computational biology to join our community.

Prior work in the group has pioneered the use of 'polygenic scores' to quantify inherited susceptibility to disease, studied the interaction of genetic factors with lifestyle and environmental exposures in determining health outcomes, and identified new genetic drivers of cardiometabolic conditions. These observations have been published in leading scientific journals, including New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Cell, and Nature Genetics.

The Postdoctoral Associate will be personally mentored by Dr. Khera and join an interdisciplinary team of clinician-scientists, statistical geneticists, machine learning experts, genetic counselors, and data visualization experts working together to:

• Use human genetics as a tool to probe disease biology


• Integrate genetic and non-genetic factors into improved risk models


• Conduct implementation studies within genomic and precision medicine to confirm clinical utility

The successful candidate will lead projects related to cardiovascular and other important diseases. Representative examples of high-priority projects and collaborations include:

• Improving the transethnic portability of polygenic scores, making use of public and private datasets as a site for a large NHGRI Consortium led by Dr. Khera


• Use machine learning on raw imaging data to develop and understand features important for cardiometabolic diseases, such as local fat depots (and latent representations thereof) in collaboration with the Broad's Machine Learning for Health group and the new Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center


• Rare variant analyses for cardiometabolic traits to identify molecular subtypes of common diseases and - in cases of protection from disease - directly inspire a therapeutic strategy


• Understand the role of genetics in both disease onset, but also progression, with an eye towards informing clinical trial design, including participation in the Chronic Liver Disease Genetics Consortium led by Dr. Khera in collaboration focused on fatty liver disease and steatohepatitis with MGH and UC San Diego

Candidates will have the opportunity toworklead projects, teams, andinitiativesina unique translational genomics environment, and to independently direct collaborative research projects with colleagues across institutions in Boston as well as national and international collaborativeinitiatives. We emphasize the research training and career development opportunities for all lab members, and the candidate will have chances to interact with the research teams within the Broad Institute and also the broader community in MIT, Harvard and the Harvard-affiliated hospitals across Boston.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop study hypotheses and assist PI and research team to design and analyze results


• Conduct data analyses on a range of study cohorts and phenotypes, including genetic data (genotyping array, whole exome sequencing, and whole genome sequencing), imaging data (cardiac MRIs, coronary CT scans), electronic health record data, and large-scale metabolomic and proteomic data


• Manage and integrate datasets, including facilitating cost-effective organization of data in on-prem and cloud-based storage platforms


• Lead the design and development of statistical analysis plans for projects


• Regularly communicate project status updates via Slack and team meetings


• Participate in writing progress reports and grant proposals for funding agencies


• Participate within a team of scientists to foster a culture of scientific excellence and collaboration


• Actively participate and lead the preparation of manuscripts for publication and present at scientific conferences

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• A Ph.D. in a quantitative discipline (such as Computational Biology, Biostatistics, Statistical Genetics, Computer Science, Bioinformatics, Physics, Epidemiology, Genetic Epidemiology- or in Biology with a strong quantitative background


• At least one year of experience working with biologic datasets is preferred - preferably large-scale genetic sequencing data and clinical data - in an academic, pharmaceutical or biotech environment


• Experience developingefficient algorithms and mathematical models to solve complex problems, theory and applications to solve challenging real-life data science problems.


• Proficiencywithcoding in standard bioinformatics tools and programming languages (e.g., Python, R)


• Strong experiencewith genomic analysis tools


• Demonstrated ability to proactively remain up-to-date in current bioinformatics techniques and resources, and identify and benchmark novel software solutions against established reference datasets


• Experience with cluster-based or/andcloud computingand machine learningarepreferred but not required


• Experience working with genotyping and/or gene sequence data - including quality control and association analyses with clinical phenotypes


• Experience with publicly available genetic databasesand biobanks preferred.


• Track record of leading - or playing an important role - in prior scientific publications


• Strong analytical skills and the ability to function and communicate effectively in a highly productive multi-disciplinary environment


• Outstanding communication, organization, and time management skills
  
  

WORKING CONDITIONS

• The Broad Institute is a world-leading non-profit research organization dedicated to realizing the promise of the post-genomic era for human benefit. Located in Cambridge, MA with strong ties to MIT, Harvard, and world class Boston hospitals, the Broad Institute brings together scientists of diverse backgrounds to solve critical problems in biology and medicine in an interdisciplinary manner


• Broadies have a diverse collection of talents, and expertise creating a rich collaborative environment for solving intractable scientific problems


• The chance to have a real impact on the advancement of science and medicine


• Comprehensive benefits package: Paid time off (including vacation time, holidays, parental leave, and sick time), health/dental care, matching 401K, commuter benefits, childcare, tuition reimbursement and more

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All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

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