Garvan Institute of Medical Research brings together world leading scientists and clinicians, collaborating locally and globally, to advance our understanding of disease, particularly cancer, autoimmunity and genetic disorders. Garvan is a global leader in fundamental biomedical research and its translation. Our mission is to make discoveries that will improve health for all.
The Clark lab are global leaders in the study of epigenetic mechanisms and the application of epigenetics to understand cancer biology and identify new diagnostics and treatments.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Bioinformatician/Statistician will lead the computational analysis of a comprehensive multi-omics dataset focused on the prostate microenvironment. The role contributes to research investigating how distinct populations of stromal fibroblasts influence prostate cancer development and progression.
Key responsibilities include applying statistical integration techniques, such as MOFA+, to analyse a large nine-layer multi-omic dataset comprising RNA-seq, WGBS, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq (H3K4me3, H3K4me1, H3K27ac, H3K27me3), Hi-C and promoter-capture Hi-C data. The role also supports the adoption of emerging artificial intelligence approaches, including the application of foundation models such as AlphaGenome to predict the functional consequences of sequence variation, and the development of agentic AI workflows to enhance data processing, automate literature integration and accelerate hypothesis generation.
Employment Type: 1-year fixed-term , full-time
SNAPSHOT OF BENEFITS
Generous salary packaging to save you income tax on your wages thereby boosting your monthly take home pay (max. $15,900 general expenses + $2,650 meals/accom)
Ample opportunities for on-going training and development
Stimulating, diverse and highly international research environment
Flexible work arrangements e.g. start / finish times
18 weeks paid parental leave for both parents including paid superannuation
A range of additional leave types to meet your personal needs including cultural leave, conference leave, community service and study leave
Discounted Health Insurance
Lifestyle discounts with our community partners
WHAT YOU WILL DO
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The key responsibilities include:
3D Genomic Analysis: Analyze structural architecture and enhancer-promoter looping using Hi-C and pcHi-C data (e.g., using CHiCAGO or similar frameworks) to physically link active enhancers to target promoters.
Network Inference & Statistical Integration: Perform statistical integration (e.g., MOFA+) to identify latent factors driving fibroblast phenotypes, and infer transcription factor-driven Gene Regulatory Networks (GRNs).
Single cell data analysis: including processing, analysis and integration of new scMethyl-RNA data with scRNAseq data.
Deep Learning for Genomics: Use Google's AlphaGenome API to predict the functional consequences of sequence variations
AI & Agentic Workflows: Implement and deploy agentic AI systems to streamline complex data processing tasks, automate literature integration, and accelerate hypothesis generation.
Work closely with wet-lab scientists to biologically interpret AI and computational findings, assisting in the design of targeted validation experiments.
Strategic design, leadership, stakeholder engagement
Mentor junior scientists in experimental design, execution, and data interpretation.
Collaborate effectively with internal and external partners.
Communicate scientific findings clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Active participation in weekly group meetings, institute-wide forums
Innovation
Stay current with relevant literature to inform internal decision-making.
Drive adoption of cutting-edge bioinformatic/AI tools in data analysis and biological interpretation
Contribute to scientific publications.
Health & Safety and Risk Management
Proactively identify, assess, and report operational, financial, and safety risks associated with the duties of this role. The incumbent is required to adhere to the organisation’s Risk Management Framework, ensure all activities are conducted in accordance with established policies and procedures, and contribute to a culture of continuous improvement by suggesting mitigation strategies for identified hazards or inefficiencies.
ABOUT YOU
The key skills and experience include:
Education:
PhD (or MSc with 3+ years of highly relevant experience) in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Genomics or a related field.
Required Qualifications & Skills
Programming: Advanced proficiency in Python and/or R, alongside shell scripting (Bash) for high-performance computing (HPC) environments.
Omics Expertise: Proven experience analyzing standard transcriptomic and epigenetic data (RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq, WGBS, WGS).
AI/ML Proficiency: Strong enthusiasm for and practical knowledge of modern AI applications in biology, including working with APIs for large-scale deep learning genomic models (like AlphaGenome) and integrating LLM-based agents into coding workflows.
Statistics: Strong background in statistical modelling and dimensionality reduction.
Desired (but not required) Skills
3D Genomics: Demonstrated experience working with and interpreting chromatin conformation capture data (Hi-C, Capture Hi-C, or ChIA-PET).
Experience with analysing GWAS data.
Background knowledge in cancer biology, or stromal/fibroblast biology.
In addition, the Computational Biologist should possess the following skills and attributes
Communication: Excellent written and oral communication skills for reports, grant proposals, and public presentations.
Professionalism: Highly organised with sound administrative abilities and a commitment to continuous delivery of high-quality work.
ABOUT GARVAN
Garvan Institute of Medical Research is an independent Medical Research Institute (MRI) in Sydney, delivering scientific and clinical impact on a global basis and in partnership with organisations that share our vision. We are proud to be one of Australia’s largest and most highly regarded MRI’s.
Our vision is global leadership in discoveries to impact and our enduring purpose is to impact human health, by harnessing information encoded in our genome.
We seek to see our world-class discovery research achieve life-changing impacts, not only for individual patients with rare diseases, but for the many thousands affected by complex, common disease.
Garvan promotes a diverse workplace and is committed to the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. We are always looking for culture ‘add’, not culture ‘fit’ and are building diverse teams with great sets of complementary styles and skills to help deliver our important work effectively.
HOW TO APPLY
To apply for this position, please submit your application with a CV and cover letter as one document, stating why you are interested in this role. If you think you’re the right person for this role, we’d love to hear how your capabilities, achievements and experience set you apart. Only applicants with full working rights in Australia are eligible to apply for this role.
