Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a skilled and motivated Bioinformatician with strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative approach to join the Translational Research team within the Clinical Genomics department. Based at the Centre for Molecular Pathology, one of seven national Genomic Laboratory Hubs offering cancer genomic testing in England, this state-of-the-art facility brings together translational science and molecular diagnostics. It is one of the leading laboratories in Europe specialising in molecular diagnostics of cancer. With the increasing demand for genetic and genomic data, the Centre is expanding its capability to analyse genomic information to deliver personalised molecular medicine and support biomarker discovery and validation across all cancer types.
We are seeking an enthusiastic Research Bioinformatician to contribute to the delivery of the molecular genetic service, with the overarching aim of improving cancer diagnosis and patient outcomes. The post-holder will be responsible for the development and maintenance of the in-house web portal, MarsGen Reporter, which supports specialised genomic molecular diagnostic investigations in tumour tissues. They will also play a key role in maintaining and validating the facility, including implementing analysis pipelines for clinical next-generation sequencing and other genomic protocols to advance personalised cancer medicine.
Main duties of the job
The postholder will contribute to the development, validation and implementation of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning methodologies to enhance genomic data analysis and interpretation in a clinical setting. Working within the Translational Research and Bioinformatics team, the Research Bioinformatician will support translational research, optimise data pipelines for high-throughput sequencing, and integrate AI/ML approaches into clinical workflows. The role involves close collaboration with clinicians, scientists, data engineers and external partners to ensure research outputs are robust, reproducible and clinically relevant.
In addition, the postholder will design and develop web portals for data visualisation, support scientists with NGS data analysis and interpretation, and manage data storage, backup and user support. They will also contribute to staff training, documentation and SOPs, ensuring compliance with legal and ethical standards for handling and transmitting genetic and sensitive patient data.
About us
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals - one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey - as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.
At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.
At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification:
- Develop, validate and maintain computational tools, workflows and databases for the application of AI/ML in clinical and genomic data analysis.
- Design and implement algorithms for data interpretation, multi-omics integration and predictive modelling to support translational and clinical research.
- Collaborate with clinicians, scientists and IT teams to develop scalable, automated analysis pipelines using high-performance and cloud-based computing systems.
- Ensure secure organisation, storage and backup of all research and clinical data in compliance with NHS data governance and security standards.
- Provide scientific and technical expertise in the validation, deployment and interpretation of AI/ML tools in clinical contexts.
- Maintain accurate documentation, update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and contribute to quality improvement activities.
- Produce analytical reports, data visualisations and presentations, and contribute to scientific publications.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification:
- Develop, validate and maintain computational tools, workflows and databases for the application of AI/ML in clinical and genomic data analysis.
- Design and implement algorithms for data interpretation, multi-omics integration and predictive modelling to support translational and clinical research.
- Collaborate with clinicians, scientists and IT teams to develop scalable, automated analysis pipelines using high-performance and cloud-based computing systems.
- Ensure secure organisation, storage and backup of all research and clinical data in compliance with NHS data governance and security standards.
- Provide scientific and technical expertise in the validation, deployment and interpretation of AI/ML tools in clinical contexts.
- Maintain accurate documentation, update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and contribute to quality improvement activities.
- Produce analytical reports, data visualisations and presentations, and contribute to scientific publications.
Person Specification
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Ability to express and communicate ideas, concepts and findings in all circumstances including email and telephone
- Experience of report writing
- Ability to write clearly and concisely
- Educational qualification in mathematics
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Evidence of personal development
- Self confident, contributes to weekly meetings
- Able to work unsupervised
- Flexible approach to work, decision maker
Specific Experience
Essential
- BSc in biological sciences / bioinformatics / computational biology
- MSc in bioinformatics/computational biology
- PhD in bioinformatics/computational biology or equivalent experience
- Good knowledge of open source bioinformatics tools and genomic databases
- Experience of UNIX/LINUX operating systems to an advanced level
- Experience in programming using scripting languages to an advanced level, e.g. Perl or Python
- Experience of Cloud computing systems and parallelising jobs
- Experience of working in DNA-seq NGS
- Experience of using containerisation and Git
Desirable
- HCPC-Registered Clinical Bioinformatician or working towards registration
- Experience of working in other NGS applications i.e. RNA-seq
- Experience with development and maintenance of a web portal
- Able to perform advanced training and ensuring compliance with professional standards
- Experience working in bioinformatics/computational biology in cancer domain
Management experience
Desirable
- Ability to manage the bioinformatics workflow on a daily basis
Person Specification
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Ability to express and communicate ideas, concepts and findings in all circumstances including email and telephone
- Experience of report writing
- Ability to write clearly and concisely
- Educational qualification in mathematics
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Evidence of personal development
- Self confident, contributes to weekly meetings
- Able to work unsupervised
- Flexible approach to work, decision maker
Specific Experience
Essential
- BSc in biological sciences / bioinformatics / computational biology
- MSc in bioinformatics/computational biology
- PhD in bioinformatics/computational biology or equivalent experience
- Good knowledge of open source bioinformatics tools and genomic databases
- Experience of UNIX/LINUX operating systems to an advanced level
- Experience in programming using scripting languages to an advanced level, e.g. Perl or Python
- Experience of Cloud computing systems and parallelising jobs
- Experience of working in DNA-seq NGS
- Experience of using containerisation and Git
Desirable
- HCPC-Registered Clinical Bioinformatician or working towards registration
- Experience of working in other NGS applications i.e. RNA-seq
- Experience with development and maintenance of a web portal
- Able to perform advanced training and ensuring compliance with professional standards
- Experience working in bioinformatics/computational biology in cancer domain
Management experience
Desirable
- Ability to manage the bioinformatics workflow on a daily basis
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
