Senior Manager of the Biostatistics Unit - Population and Medical Genomics Programme

The Human Technopole is looking for a Senior Manager of the Biostatistics Unit for the Centre for Genomics - Population and Medical Genomics Programme.

Human Technopole (HT) is a new interdisciplinary research institute in Milan, Italy, created and supported by the Italian government whose aim is to develop innovative strategies to promote human health through a multidisciplinary and integrated approach, combining genomics, computational and structural biology, neuroscience, and data and decisions sciences. The Population and Medical Genomics Programme is part of the Genomics Research Centre, and will deploy large-scale genomic analyses to study the genetic basis of human traits and diseases.

We are looking for a Senior Manager of the Biostatistics Unit, a new state-of-the-art unit for the statistical analysis of genetic data from human populations. This newly created unit will support the data analysis efforts of the research groups in the Population and Medical Genomics Programme. The unit will work with research teams in a collaborative fashion, performing statistical analysis on a variety of genomics data types. The unit will rely on data generated by the research teams and the Cellular Technologies Unit of the centre and the High Throughput Genomics Core Facility of HT. The unit will also be involved in the analysis of data generated by external collaborators and publicly available data when required. The Unit will benefit from a large High-Performance Computing and Data Storage infrastructure, and from close interaction with an expert community of computational biologists within the Genomics Centre, other Research Centres, and of core facilities at HT.

The successful candidate will be responsible for coordinating a small team of approximately four scientists with expertise in biostatistics and statistical genetics. It will set up and maintain the data analysis infrastructure of the centre. The work will involve the development and application of novel statistical methods for analysis of cohort and human disease studies, including but not limited to analysis of genome-wide SNP and sequencing data from human populations.

A key mission of the Manager or the Biostatistics Unit will be to support members of the centre with advanced statistical analyses of genetic data. The selected candidate will also be expected to ensure that the analytical tools and pipelines deployed are state-of-the-art and steadily incorporating new analytical methods and tools designed by the researchers of the centre. They will also be involved in the recruitment, training and mentoring of staff. Ensuring reproducibility and robustness of bioinformatics analyses will a core task of this role.

Key tasks and responsibilities

The Manager of the Biostatistics Unit for the Centre for Genomics – Population and Medical Genomics Programme will be responsible for:

• Coordinate and maintain the statistical analysis infrastructure for human genetic data, including SNP array, whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing, transcriptome sequencing;
• Develop and maintain new statistical methods for data analysis;
• Develop tools and resources for visualising and displaying human genetic variation data;
• Curate and release genetic datasets generated by pipelines;
• Interact with a team of technical posts within the unit with different computational expertise;
• Analyse data from healthy volunteers and patient samples and provide results and QC to the relevant researchers in the centre;
• Work with the HT High Throughput Genomics Core Facility and the Wet Lab unit for data processing;
• Work with the Computational Genomics Unit of the High Throughput Genomics Core Facility to process data with established pipelines.
• Work closely with the Image Analysis Facility to integrate ‘omics data with imaging;
• Be responsible for implementing priorities and resource planning for the unit;
• Aid data sharing and reproducibility of bioinformatics analyses;
• Ensure the pipelines and analyses are world-class;
• Help accessing and analysing public datasets that may be relevant to the centre’s activities;
• Manage import, storage and use of external datasets, including access rights and storage of phenotypic data;
• Coordinate the computational needs of the centre with HT Scientific Computing;
• Manage scientific computing access charges with periodic review to ensure sustainability and competitiveness;
• Cooperate with other groups to implement new pipelines for novel technologies;
• Design data management and sharing plans, as well as GDPR compliance;
• Closely follow analysis developments that could benefit the centre;
• Organise introductions and assistance for new users of the unit;
• Help select, lead and mentor junior staff;
• Prepare for centre reviews by external experts;
• Participate actively in the overall development of HT core facilities;
• Build effective links and collaborations within HT;
• Develop links with other national and international genomics facilities;
• Support third-party fundraising where possible.

• +5 years of hands-on experience in biostatistics and statistical genetics applied to human population data;
• PhD or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject, e.g. Statistics, statistical genetics or epidemiology;
• +2 years' experience in a lead/managerial role in a centre, laboratory or facility;
• Documented experience with setting up biostatistics pipelines and robust standard operating procedures for data analysis;
• Experience in the analysis of large-scale genetic datasets involving human samples;
• Excellent computational skills, outstanding programming abilities and trouble-shooting;
• Familiarity with container systems and NextFlow/SnakeMake pipelines;
• HPC and Unix systems savvy;
• Ability to interact effectively with other teams and work synergistically to drive projects forward;
• Highly organised and meticulous;
• Fluency in English – HT is an international research institute;
• Proven leadership, communication, team building and problem-solving skills.

Additional information:

HT offers a highly collaborative, international culture to foster top quality, interdisciplinary research by promoting a vibrant environment consisting of independent research groups with access to outstanding graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and core facilities.

HT is an inclusive employer that fosters diversity and engages systematically to ensure that equal employment opportunities are provided without regard to age, race, creed, religion, sex, disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national or ethnic origin or any other legally recognized status entitled to protection under applicable laws. HT offers attractive conditions and benefits appropriate to a leading, internationally competitive, research organisation that promotes a collegial and open atmosphere.

The Human Technopole Foundation is based in Milan

Please apply sending a CV and motivation letter in English and the name and contact details of at least 2 potential referees.

In the motivation letter, elaborate also the area of research that you are considering based on the requirements of this call, the background of the laboratory and your scientific background and experience, within 3 pages. Please also explain specifically how your contribution will be important for the success of the lab and the Human Technopole.

For specific enquires concerning the role only, please contact Nicole Soranzo, Head of the Center of Genomics: mailto:[email protected] rel="noopener">[email protected]  (this email address should not be used to send applications).