Research Associate in Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London

Closing date: 26th October 2023

Job description

We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled Research Associate to assess the links between socioeconomic deprivation, gut microbiome composition and inflammation.

Specific inflammatory pathways involved in the development of premature frailty/unhealthy ageing are upregulated in individuals who experience deprivation compared to people who do not. Many of these pathways are influenced by the gut microbiome. Identifying and characterising these pathways will help develop targeted interventions, focused on gut microbiome modulation using probiotic/prebiotic supplementation.

Taking advantage of the richly phenotyped TwinsUK cohort with Olink proteomic profiling and gut microbiome composition, the candidate will explore the association between deprivation, inflammation, frailty and gut microbiome composition. Causal validation of the inflammatory pathways will then be assessed using a two-sample Mendelian Randomisation (MR) design using data from published genome wide association studies (GWAS) as well as from the UK Biobank.

The successful candidate should have a solid background in bio-informatics, statistics, and epidemiology allowing them to analyse and interpret large data sets. In addition, the candidate should already have an excellent track record in writing, analysing and publishing research articles, as well as experience in interpreting microbiome and proteomics data. They should be hard working, flexible and able to work in a multi-disciplinary team.

This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract till 31st October 2024.

This is a full-time post – 100% full time equivalent.

Skills, knowledge, and experience

Essential criteria

• PhD awarded in bio-informatics, statistics, epidemiology, system biology, mathematical science or other related quantitative discipline
• Excellent programming skills that include knowledge of R and other programming languages (python/perl/C), and use of statistical and genetic analysis packages
• Excellent computational skills and experience with high performance computing clusters
• Proficient with analysis of large-scale datasets using the appropriate statistical methods
• Good working knowledge of Mendelian Randomisation and/or causal mediation methods
• Ability to communicate effectively at all levels in a complex multi-disciplinary environment with the ability to produce concise verbal and written reports
• Excellent Publication record in the field of microbiome/proteomics/metabolomics
• Experience with the development and implementation of software for computationally intensive analyses
• Ability to work on own initiative and meet competing and demanding deadlines
• Ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team

Desirable criteria

• Contacts with the local bioinformatics and statistical community
• Experience with twin studies

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.