The Research Officer will report to the Associate Scientist and will be responsible for advanced bioinformatics analyses, including sequence data processing and interpretation by following standard operational practice and icddr,b organizational values and guidelines. S/he will be involved in:-
Responsibilities:
Prepare weekly/monthly work plans for bioinformatics tasks in alignment with project timelines.
Support the research team by facilitating data analysis workflows and troubleshooting computational bottlenecks.
Perform bioinformatics analysis of bacterial/viral/bacteriophages whole-genome sequences, metagenomics, and microbiome data using tools like SPAdes, CLC Genomics, QIIME2, or Kraken2.
Conduct phylogenetic analysis (e.g., MEGA, IQ-TREE) to study pathogen evolution and transmission dynamics.
Developing and optimizing bioinformatics pipelines, troubleshooting analytical workflows, and contributing to research design through protocol development.
Preparing scientific manuscripts and presentations.
Collaborate with wet-lab teams to analyse data from microbial cultures, PCR/RT-PCR, and microbial detection/typing.
Maintain and curate genomic databases, ensuring secure storage and reproducibility.
Analyze datasets to identify trends, generate preliminary reports, and propose new research directions for publications.
Adhere to biosafety protocols when handling computational outputs linked to infectious agents.
Monitor and ensure proper disposal protocols for digital data linked to biohazardous materials.
Train junior staff/researchers in bioinformatics tools (R/Python, sequencing pipelines) and best practices.
Collaborate with external partners (academic, clinical, or public health) to align computational workflows with project goals.
Attend training on advanced statistics (R programming), epidemiology, or machine learning to enhance analytical skills.
Set and track personalized milestones for skill development during the employment period.
Monitor and optimize computational resource usage (e.g., cloud/HPC costs, storage).
Escalate technical or analytical challenges to supervisors with proposed solutions.
Present research findings in both the internal and external meetings, seminars and workshops.
Review scientific articles and explore different research ideas and innovations.
Requirements:
Masters in Bioinformatics/Microbiology/Molecular Biology/Biochemistry/ Biotechnology/ Genetic Engineering with an excellent academic record.
At least 3 years of Lab research experience in the relevant field.
