David Bickel, statistician

Scientific breakthroughs from genome-sequencing projects brought the realization that reliable interpretation of the resulting information makes unprecedented demands for contemporaneous advances in computation and mathematical modeling. As the complexity of genomic data sets drives innovative statistics research, the new Statistical Inference and Computation in Genomics (Statomics) Lab of the Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology seeks MSc and PhD students who will develop and apply novel methodology and algorithms to solve current problems in analyzing gene-expression, proteomics, metabolomics, SNP, ChIP-chip, and/or phenotypic data. The lab is presently targeting inference in genome-wide association studies, estimation of levels of gene expression, and improvements in the repeatability of microarray results and will attack similar statistical and computational challenges of importance to genetics and functional genomics.

The OISB provides a highly collaborative research environment with ample opportunities to interact with leading experimental and computational biologists. In addition, each student’s background will complement that of any students and any postdoctoral researchers to be recruited to the Statomics Lab from the statistics, bioinformatics, and computer science communities, creating interdisciplinary synergism for making unique contributions to science.

Intellectual curiosity and high mathematical aptitude are essential, as is the ability to quickly code and debug computer programs. Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status, strong initiative, good communication skills, and a degree in bioinformatics, computer science, mathematics, physics, statistics, any field of engineering, or an equally quantitative field are also absolutely necessary. The following qualities are desirable but not required: coursework in computer science, numerical methods, numerical analysis, software engineering, statistics, and/or biology; familiarly with BUGS, R, S-PLUS, C, Fortran, and/or LaTeX; experience with UNIX or Linux.

Send a PDF CV that has your GPA and contact information of two references to dbickel0@uottawa.ca (without the zero) with “statistical bioinformatics graduate student” in the Subject line of the message and with your preferred graduate program (Biochemistry, Mathematics & Statistics, or Computer Science) and the degree sought (MSc or PhD) in the message body. Only those students selected for further consideration will receive a response.