Research Assistant

Employment Type:2yearfixed-term contract with possibility to extend

SNAPSHOT OF BENEFITS

• Generous salary packaging to save you income tax on your wages thereby boosting your monthly take home pay (max. $15,900 general expenses + $2,650 meals/accom)

• Ample opportunitiesfor on-going training and development

• Stimulating, diverse and highly international research environment

• Flexible work arrangementse.g. start / finish times 

• 18 weeks paid parental leavefor both parents including paid superannuation

• A range ofadditionalleave types to meet your personal needs including cultural leave, conference leave, communityserviceand study leave

• Discounted Health Insurance

• Lifestyle discounts with our community partners

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Depending on level of experience and requirements of the role, a Research Assistant istypically expected to:

1. Scientific Excellence

• Experimental Execution: Developing,maintainingand executing bioinformaticpipelines/workflows, particularly in relation toscRNA-seq and spatialtranscriptomic data.

• Optimisation: Contribute to the existing codebase in collaboration with otherteam members, including debugging,refactoringand enhancing legacy code.Adopt, test and benchmark analytical packages for incorporation into analysesand standardised pipelines.

• Data management: Track, archive and actively manage raw and processeddatain accordance withestablished procedures and policies

• Specialist Advice:Providetechnical advice to researchers within the groupregarding specific research methods, instruments, and analysis tools.

• Data integrity: Ensure all research data isaccurate, high-quality, andconforms to good scientific practice, ensuring it is accessible to otherresearchers asrequired.

• Scientific Communication: Communicate experimental results to researchersandcollaborators through written reports and effective visual formats.

• Scholarly Contribution: Assist In the preparation of research papers andcontribute content to grant applications and research proposals.

2. Team Leadership

• Mentorship & Training: Train students, postdocs, and peers on data collection,specialised tools, and laboratory safety protocols.

• Personal Growth: Take responsibility for own professional development byattending workshops andseekingto learn new techniques to support thegroup’s evolving research needs.

• Team Collaboration: Work effectively as a reliable and approachable memberof the research team, fostering a collaborative environment.

3. Resources & Planning

• Lab Coordination: Manage internal communications, such as scheduling teammeetings and research presentations.

• Compliance & Outputs: Manage research data and outputs to ensurecompliance withopen accessrequirements of funding bodies and publishers.

• Project Delivery: Balance the competing needs and timelines of multipleresearch projects within the lab and with external collaborators to meetdeadlines.

4. Institute Contributions

• Values & Integrity:Demonstratescientific and professional integrity at alltimes, acting as a role model for ethical behaviour.

• Active Participation: Contribute to the wider institute community byparticipatingin committees, outreach projects, or donor activities.

5. Health & Safety and Risk Management

• Comply withGarvan’s workplace polices (as amended from time to time) andespecially Garvan’s Work Health & Safety (WHS) Policy, including workinginaccordance withthe WHS management system at all times, as safety isGarvan’s number one priority.

• Proactivelyidentify, assess, and report operational, financial, and safety risksassociated with the duties of this role. The incumbentis required toadhere tothe organisation’s Risk Management Framework, ensure all activities areconductedin accordance withestablished policies and procedures, andcontribute to a culture of continuous improvement by suggesting mitigationstrategies foridentifiedhazards or inefficiencies.

ABOUT YOU

The key skills and experience include:

Essential Knowledge:

• BSc or MSc in computer science or a quantitative discipline (Computational Biology,Bioinformatics, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics, Software Engineering, or a related field)

• Experience with version control systems, particularly Git

• Experience using R and/or Python programming language

• Familiarity with the Unix command line and high-performance computing environmentsand/or cloud computing

Desirable Knowledge:

• Knowledge of the fundamentals of molecular biology: DNA transcription andtranslation

• Experience in the analysis of large molecular datasets, such as whole genome andtranscriptomic sequencing data

• Experience in handling, processing, and interpreting large-scale biological datasetsderived fromscRNA-seq and spatial technologies (such asVisiumor Xenium)

• Experience in machine learning, deep learning, and foundational models would bepreferred but not essential

• Experience working in a multidisciplinary team

• Appreciation of ethical dimensions of clinical research

Personal Qualities:

• Excellent communication skills for written reports and oral presentations

• Excellent organisational and time management skills

• Strong desireto work co-operatively with other team members

• Commitment to data organisation and implementation of quality controls

• An interest in understanding how cancers evolve and progress

ABOUT GARVAN

Garvan Institute of Medical Researchis an independent Medical Research Institute (MRI)in Sydney, delivering scientific and clinical impact on a global basis and in partnership with organisations that share our vision. We are proud to be one of Australia’s largest and most highly regardedMRI’s. 

Our vision is global leadership in discoveries toimpactand our enduring purpose is toimpacthuman health, by harnessing information encoded in our genome.

Weseekto see our world-class discovery research achieve life-changing impacts, not only for individual patients with rare diseases, but for the many thousands affected by complex, common disease.