Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Statistical Genetics

• Institute for Molecular Bioscience

• Join a university ranked in the world’s top 50

• Access state-of-the-art facilities to further your research endeavours 

• Fast track your career with our early career academic development program

• Based at our picturesque and Vibrant St Lucia Campus

About UQ

As part of the UQ community, you’ll have the opportunity to work alongside the brightest minds, who have joined us from all over the world, and within an environment where interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged.

At the core of our teaching remains our students, and their experience with us sets a foundation for success far beyond graduation. UQ has made a commitment to making education opportunities available for all Queenslanders, regardless of personal, financial, or geographical barriers.

As part of our commitment to excellence in research and professional practice in academic contexts, we are proud to provide our staff with access to world-class facilities and equipment, grant writing support, greater research funding opportunities, and other forms of staff support and development.

About This Opportunity 

This is an exciting opportunity for a Research Fellow (Level B) with interest and expertise in Statistical Genetics or Genetic Epidemiology to engage in research to further their expertise and growing research profile to achieve national recognition in their discipline. Outstanding Research Officer/Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Level A) applicants with prior substantial work experience will also be considered.

Key responsibilities include: 

1. Research

Academic Level A

• Generate new hypotheses and run statistical analyses implementing existing methods (e.g., GWAS, Mendelian Randomization)

• Participate in the development of novel approaches to analyse large scale genomic data (e.g., by deriving mathematical results underlying the methods, by running simulation studies to assess the statistical properties of the methods)

• Produce quality research outputs (e.g., publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals, presentation at conference).

• Develop a coherent research program and an emerging research profile.

Academic Level B

Duties listed above, in addition to the following:

• Take on a leadership role in the development of novel approaches to analyse large scale genomic data

• Contribute to the implementation and dissemination of software tools developed to run new analyses

• Work with colleagues towards the development of joint research projects and applications for competitive research funding support

• Contribute to progressing towards transfer of knowledge, technology and practices to research end users through translation, including commercialisation of UQ intellectual property.

2. Teaching

• This role is research-focussed. However, candidates who wish to grow their teaching experience could also be involved (e.g., as lecturer or teaching assistants) in some of the teaching programs led by our research group.

3. Supervision and Researcher Development

Academic Level A

• Contribute to the effective supervision of Honours students.

• Demonstrates personal effectiveness in supervision and the management of researcher development.

Academic Level B

• Contribute to the effective supervision of Honours and Higher Degree by Research students.

• Demonstrate a track record of the effective supervision of Honours and Higher Degree by Research students.

• Demonstrates personal effectiveness in supervision and management and development of researcher capability and skill.

• Effective lead and develop supervisee performance and conduct by providing feedback, coaching, and professional development.

• Manage staff effectively throughout the employee lifecycle in accordance with University policy and procedures.

• Working to promptly resolve conflict and grievances when they arise in accordance with University policy and procedures.

This is a research focused position. Further information can be found by viewing UQ’s Criteria for Academic Performance .

This is a full-time (100%), fixed-term position for up to 3 years.

At Academic level A the full-time equivalent base salary will be in the range $77,324.85 - $102,945.12, plus a generous super allowance of up to 17%. The total FTE package will be up to $90,470.08 - $120,445.79 annually.

At Academic level B, the full-time equivalent base salary will be in the range $108,201.26 - $128,201.75, plus a generous super allowance of up to 17%. The total FTE package will be up to $126,595.47 - $149,996.05 annually.

As this role is covered by an Enterprise Agreement, you will also receive regular remuneration increases – at least once a year.

The greater benefits of joining the UQ community are broad:  from being part of a Group of Eight university, to recognition of prior service with other Australian universities, up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave, 17.5% annual leave loading, flexible working arrangements including hybrid on site/WFH options and flexible start/finish times, and genuine career progression opportunities via the academic promotions process.

About You  

• Completion (or near completion for Level A applicants) of a PhD in Statistical Genetics, Genetic Epidemiology, Quantitative Genetics, Econometrics, Statistics or other relevant areas.

• Knowledge or expertise in the principles of genetics and genomics, and linear model methodology

• Strong background in statistics and a proven ability to code efficiently in low-level programming languages (e.g., C/C++).

• Evidence of research productivity, including high-profile publications, conference presentations and external grant applications.

• Demonstrated high-level communication and interpersonal skills including the ability to effectively collaborate to ensure research aims are met.

• Ability to work independently with excellent problem solving and organisational skills, with high attention to detail

• Knowledge or Expertise in one or more of the following is desirable:

  • Quantitative genetics models and theories

  • The development and application of multi-marker methods

  • The analysis of large-scale SNP array and whole genome sequencing data

  • Analysis of large-scale genetic data

  • Integrative analysis of omics data

Academic Level B

• Evidence of successfully seeking, obtaining and managing external research funding.

• A growing record of supervision of Honours and Research Higher Degree students to successful completion.

In addition, the following mandatory requirements apply:

• Work Rights: You must have unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this appointment to apply. Visa sponsorship is not available for this appointment. 

• Mandatory Immunisations: It is a condition of employment for this role that you will be required to provide evidence of immunisation against certain vaccine preventable diseases.

• Background Checks: All final applicants for this position may be asked to consent to a criminal record check. Please note that people with criminal records are not automatically barred from applying for this position. Each application will be considered on its merits. 

You can find out more about life in Australia’s Sunshine State here .

Questions? 

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Associate Professor Loic Yengo [email protected]

For application queries, please contact [email protected] stating the job reference number (below) in the subject line.

Want to Apply? 

All applicants must upload the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

• Resume

• Cover letter responding to the ‘About You’ section

Other Information 

At UQ we know that our greatest strengths come from our diverse mix of colleagues, this is reflected in our ongoing commitment to creating an environment focused on equity, diversity and inclusion .  We ensure that we are always attracting, retaining and promoting colleagues who are representative of the diversity in the broader community, whether that be gender identity , LGBTQIA+ , cultural and/or linguistic , Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples , or people with a disability . Accessibility requirements and/or adjustments can be directed to [email protected] .

If you are a current employee (including casual staff and HDR scholars) or hold an unpaid/affiliate appointment, please login to your staff Workday account and visit the internal careers board to apply for this opportunity. Please do NOT apply via the external job board.

Applications close Saturday 13 April 2024 at 11.00pm AEST (R-36519).