This position is no longer open as of 2022 December. Please see /join for a list of open positions.

Are you interested in research at the exciting interface of computation and biology? Are you excited by the challenge of discovering new knowledge from large biological datasets to make a difference in basic science and in human health? A computational biology research group in the Center for Public Heath Genomics at the University of Virginia led by Nathan Sheffield is recruiting individuals with an interest in team-oriented computational biology.

About the lab

The Databio group (http://www.databio.org) is an interdisciplinary and collaborative computational biology research group located in the Center for Public Health Genomics at UVA. We are also affiliated with the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Department of Public Health Sciences, the School of Data Science, the Cancer Center, and the Child Health Research Center at UVA.

Our research is at the interface of computation and biology, drawing on techniques in computer science, data science, bioinformatics, and machine learning, and applying them to biological questions in cancer, epigenetics, single-cell analysis, development, and genomics. We collect both novel data and public data and make use of UVA’s high-performance cluster for computational approaches to biological questions.

Our biological questions are focused on understanding gene regulation and epigenetics in development and disease, such as cancer, atherosclerosis, and kidney disease. How does DNA encode regulatory networks that enable cellular differentiation? We rely on experimental data from sequencing-based epigenome experiments like ATAC-seq, bisulfite-seq, and ChIP-seq, and we use these data to study fundamental principles of regulatory DNA in human health.

We are building a team of intelligent, creative people who are interested in working together to accomplish great things. We collaborate extensively. We emphasize social coding, using GitHub to share code both within the group and so others can benefit from our work. We seek to write readable, reusable code and apply it to new biological questions. We challenge the norm in academic computational research of individual scientists writing isolated code, and instead push open, multi-author code development. If these topics excite you, please read more about our research interests, recent publications, and philosophy of open data.

About the university

The University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, is the only collegiate UNESCO World Heritage site in the US. It located near Shenandoah National Park in the beautiful foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Charlottesville, Virginia. UVA routinely ranks in the top 3 public universities in the United States, with a co-located School of Medicine and a top-tier environment for research. Charlottesville is also a great place to live. If you’re unfamiliar with area, please read the many reasons you should consider coming to UVA.

Interested in joining?

I’m recruiting team-oriented postdocs with experience in computational research. Applicants should be familiar with skills listed on my page of skills and training materials.

Qualifications:

PhD in bioinformatics, computer science, biomedical engineering, genomics, or related field.
Computational experience with linux command-line systems, R and/or Python, and git is preferred.
Biological understanding in epigenomics or related field, as evidenced by first-author publications in high impact journals. Exceptional applicants from other fields who wish to transition to computational genomics will be considered.
Willingness to contribute to team projects (such as building communal software) and demonstrated commitment to sharing software and data with the community.
Experience with machine learning, especially natural language processing, is preferred but not required.

Include with your application:

Your CV, including education and publication history
Your career goals, and what you think you would gain from experience in our group
Why you think you would fit well, and what you would contribute
Your biggest idea for a project or type of project you’d like to work on
A link to GitHub or other public repository with code you showcase, or other demonstration of your commitment to sharing
Contact information for 3 references
Your ideas for sources of funds for your postdoctoral research (secured funding is not a prerequisite, but ambition is favorable)

The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position will remain open until filled.

Informal inquiries and application materials should be directed to the attention of Dr. Nathan Sheffield at , and for complete consideration, application materials must also be submitted at the official UVA application system (posting number 0619301).