Postdoctoral Training Fellow in Computational Biology

Location: The Francis Crick Institute, Midland Road, London

Short summary

We are trying to solve the question how the most successful parasite on earth, Toxoplasma gondii, subverts the host cell to establish a favourable immune response. Toxoplasma is special as it is a true generalist, infecting almost any nucleated cell in any warm-blooded animal, including humans. 

Key Responsibilities

You will play a central role in this project to apply and develop computational methods, co-supervised by the laboratory of Prof. Manfred Claassen, to analyse PerturbSequencing and scRNAseq data in complex experimental settings. The aim is to identify all transcriptional regulators of Toxoplasma that function across species, analyse the transcriptional responses in various cells and hosts and measure interdependencies between effector proteins. A second goal of this project is to understand how the effectors function within the cell, and their role in controlling the immune response. For this you will analyse immune cell populations across the course of an infection in vivo using scRNAseq and RNA velocity-based trajectory inference of the natural cellular immune response to infection and the role of individual effector proteins. You will work alongside 3 researchers that will lead the wetlab aspect of this work, and have the opportunity to engage with other members of the lab.

A solid background in bioinformatics/statistics and enthusiasm to tackle highly complex biological problems is essential. Experience in analysis of single-cell sequencing data would be a plus. The primary role will be to develop analysis methods for multi-model single-cell sequencing in a novel host-pathogen interaction context, but there will also be opportunities to be involved in wet-lab data generation. PhD in a relevant field or in the final stages of PhD submission with experience in the analysis of transcriptomics data, ideally scRNAseq. 

About us

The Francis Crick Institute is a biomedical discovery institute dedicated to understanding the fundamental biology underlying health and disease. Its work is helping to understand why disease develops and to translate discoveries into new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, infections, and neurodegenerative diseases.

An independent organisation, its founding partners are the Medical Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, UCL (University College London), Imperial College London and King’s College London.

The Crick was formed in 2015, and in 2016 it moved into a new state-of-the-art building in central London which brings together 1500 scientists and support staff working collaboratively across disciplines, making it the biggest biomedical research facility under in one building in Europe.

The Francis Crick Institute will be world-class with a strong national role. Its distinctive vision for excellence includes commitments to collaboration; developing emerging talent and exporting it the rest of the UK; public engagement; and helping turn discoveries into treatments as quickly as possible to improve lives and strengthen the economy. 

• If you are interested in applying for this role, please apply via our website.
• The closing date for applications is 11/09/2022
• All offers of employment are subject to successful security screening and continuous eligibility to work in the United Kingdom.