Scientist - Pathology Bioinformatician

Job summary

Part of the Forestry Commission family, Forest Research (FR) is a world leader in applied forest science, providing evidence and practical solutions to policy makers, forestry professionals, land managers and anyone with green space, UK wide. With climate and biodiversity in crisis, and an increasing number of pests and diseases, our research is more vital than ever before. We advise on how woodlands can help combat climate change. We’re identifying tree species that will thrive in the future and seeking ways to safeguard those species at risk. Our research supports UK timber production because fewer imports reduce carbon emissions. We provide robust data on forests in Scotland, Wales and England, and provide evidence of the societal benefits of woodland. We do all this utilising the latest technology while working collaboratively with academia, partners and industry, nationally and internationally.

This role will develop and apply bioinformatic workflows and undertake genomic, transcriptomic and statistical analyses of DNA and RNA sequence data to investigate the biology, diversity and evolution of fungal and oomycete forest pathogens.

The Pathology team at FR tackles important tree health problems in UK forests, focusing on oomycete, fungal and bacterial pathogens. Current projects funding this position include the development of a DNA detection tool for oomycete forest pathogens based on Oxford Nanopore sequencing, comparative whole genome analyses of invasive oomycete and fungal pathogens to answer taxonomic and evolutionary questions and exploring the genetic basis of resistance in conifers to invasive Phytophthora species.

Job description

The role involves the following specific tasks, utilizing the computing resources provided by the James Hutton Institute’s Crop Diversity Cluster.

• Development of bioinformatic pipelines for Oxford Nanopore sequencing, specifically for:
  • identification of oomycete species from metabarcoding data
  • identification of causal pathogens from genomic DNA generated from infected tree samples
• Analyses of Illumina genomic sequences generated for historic fungal herbarium specimens, applying haplotype, PCA and other population genomic approaches to answer taxonomic and evolutionary questions
• Analysis of dual RNAseq data to identify genes and pathways associated with conifer resistance to invasive Phytophthora
• Contribution to research proposal development

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• PhD in evolutionary genetics and/or bioinformatics of forest pathogens
• Demonstrable ability to independently use bioinformatics software, command-line tools and programming/scripting languages for genomic, transcriptomic and population genetic analyses, including Bash and R
• Experience in developing and applying bioinformatics approaches for pathogen identification from metabarcoding data
• Significant knowledge of the genetics, molecular biology and evolution of plants and plant pathogens, with experience analysing and interpreting genomic and transcriptomic data to investigate host-pathogen interactions

Desirable Criteria:

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates.

• Experience analysing and interpreting dual RNAseq data to investigate host defence and pathogen virulence, including functional analyses of gene expression
• Demonstrable experience in applying linear and generalised linear mixed models and Bayesian multivariate approaches to the analysis of complex biological datasets
• Experience in a forest pathology research environment including molecular laboratory processes
• Scientific writing skills, evidenced through published papers and submitted research proposals

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £40,388, Forestry Commission - Forest Research contributes £11,700 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Your career

• Excellent professional development opportunities which are tailored to your role, with paid professional membership subscriptions, mentoring, and Civil Service Learning available to all
• access to world class laboratory facilities, as well as state of the art buildings within forest or science park settings

Your work/life balance

• flexible working options such as: up to two days flexi leave per month, blended working, part-time working, paid special leave, career breaks, and unpaid leave. Parents and carers will be supported to enable you to manage work and family responsibilities
• A generous annual leave allowance of 25 days on entry increasing by 1 day each year to a maximum of 30 days (pro-rata for part-timers). Plus 2.5 days of additional leave and 8 days’ paid bank/public holidays

Your wellbeing

• A culture which promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment
• A range of wellbeing benefits including Employee Assistance Programme 24/7
• We want you to feel part of something bigger and we encourage a community feel in our workplaces, with everything from cookery competitions to Pilates and fell running, plus topical talks at Wellbeing Wednesdays and Feelgood Fridays
• Paid volunteering leave of 3 days per year so you can give back to your community and charitable causes by sharing your skills and time

Your benefits

• a highly competitive Civil Service Pension of 28.97% of your salary
• an employee benefits scheme offering discounts on groceries, gym memberships, holidays, days out, online retailers and high street shops
• Cycle to Work scheme and Interest free loans
• Free parking is offered on-site, alongside electric car charging ports
• With maternity, adoption, and/or shared parental leave there’s the flexibility to have up to 26 weeks full pay, followed by 13 weeks statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid leave. Paternity leave of up to two weeks is available with full pay.

Any move to Forest Research from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please