Research Associate - Oncology

Description

The Department of Oncology in the Cumming School of Medicine invites applications for a Research Associate. This Full-time Fixed Term position is for approximately 1 year (based on length of grant funding), with the possibility of extension. This position reports to the Principal Investigator.

The Research Associate will focus on project management and support for a research project evaluating the role of genetic and non-genetic risk factors on multi-cancer risk in the Canadian population. They will be part of an established research support team that includes clinicians, data scientists, biostatisticians, epidemiologists, and data management specialists.

The successful candidate will work on a variety of tasks to support research initiatives. Day-to-day activities will include developing and submitting data access requests, contributing to the development of analytic processes, developing code for statistical analyses, scientific writing and communication, reporting results, and manuscript development. Regular reporting of progress and process to the supervisors and to the team will be required. Documentation and communication of processes via various tools and software is essential. Independent judgment, attention to detail, ability to learn new methods, and strong problem-solving skills will be essential in performing the job duties.

Summary of Key Responsibilities

• Helping to develop data management and analytic protocols
• Helping with technical writing for grant applications and reporting
• Working with principal investigators to develop, document, and disseminate data processes
• Manipulating large and complex data sets, including administrative health databases
• Conducting basic and advanced statistical analyses
• Programming and/or implementing new statistical and machine learning methods
• Conducting data quality checks as well as making and logging corrections
• Documenting data analysis steps and program code
• Preparing written summaries of data analyses that include figures and tables, as needed for scientific publications and presentations

Qualifications / Requirements:

• Bioinformatics, or related discipline. An M.Sc. degree is preferred
• Excellent organizational and project management skills; attention to detail
• Excellent communication skills including advanced written and spoken English skills
• Ability to work collaboratively with members of an interdisciplinary team
• Excellent problem-solving skills and experience with programming is an asset (e.g., Python, R)
• Experience working with tabular data structures (e.g., CSV, delimited, Excel)
• Experience with, or interest in, learning new skills in working with genetic data and common storage formats (e.g., VCF, BED/BIM/FAM, PGEN/PVAR/PSAM, etc.)
• Demonstrated ability to work with large, complex datasets stored in various databases
• Minimum one year experience applying data management approaches in a health workplace setting
• Knowledge and experience with epidemiologic, biostatistical, and clinical studies is an asset
• Experience with, or interest in, gaining skills in data science is an asset

Application Deadline: January 22, 2025