In the research project the PhD candidate is expected to develop and implement pipeline to analyse a variety of clinical and omics (proteomics, transcriptomics, genomics) data sets. This pipeline will be tested on clinical datasets that include multi-omics data such as from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, and head and neck cancer patients. In collaboration with medical experts from these fields the obtained results will be used to shed more light onto important clinical questions: to identify the key molecular mechanisms of these complex diseases, to find biomarkers to improve patient classification, to identify new drug targets, and to support personalised treatment of the patients in the future.

The successful candidate will strongly benefit from working in a highly interdisciplinary research team composed of clinical researchers, analytical chemists, bioinformaticians and statisticians. The different groups, involved in this interdisciplinary project, have an excellent scientific infrastructure and track record in genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and data integration. University of Groningen has an excellent research infrastructure and the Graduate School of Science of the Faculty of Science and Engineering offer trainings to improve academic and scientific skills.

• a master’s degree in bioinformatics, computer science or genetics.
• a strong background in biology or bioinformatics and should have strong skills in programming (python, R), and experience in running and building analysis pipelines (e.g. using snakemake).
• experience with data analysis of one of the omics (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics) fields would be a significant advantage as well as experience in the clinical translation of these data. The candidate should be able to work in an interdisciplinary and multinational research team and have good communication skills.

Fixed-term contract: 48 months.

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:
• a salary of € 2,325 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 2,972 gross per month in the fourth and final year
• a position for four years; you will get a temporary position of one year with the option of renewal for another three years; prolongation of the contract is contingent on sufficient progress in the first year to indicate that a successful completion of the PhD thesis within the contract period is to be expected
• a holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income
• an 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance
• a PhD training programme is part of the agreement and the successful candidate will be enrolled in the Graduate School of Science and Engineering.

The preferred starting date is January 1, 2020.

Faculty of Science and Engineering

Founded in 1614, the University of Groningen enjoys an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative institution of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Flexible study programmes and academic career opportunities in a wide variety of disciplines encourage the 31,000 students and researchers alike to develop their own individual talents. As one of the best research universities in Europe, the University of Groningen has joined forces with other top universities and networks worldwide to become a truly global center of knowledge.

We are looking for a candidate to fill the vacancy and work on a project entitled: Netherlands X-omics initiative (https://www.x-omics.nl).

This PhD position is embedded within the larger collaborative interdisciplinary research group at the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen (RUG), the European Research Institute for Biology of Aging (ERIBA) and the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). You will be part of ongoing large-scale collaborative project that involves teams from UMCs and Universities (Utrecht, Leiden, Nijmegen) to develop effective strategies for analysis of multi-omics data.