Jobs

The Metabolomics Core Technology Platform is supported by the Excellence Strategy of Heidelberg University, as well as the German Cancer Research Center Heidelberg, and is located in the Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) Heidelberg.
The Metabolomics Core Technology Platform consists of a motivated and interdisciplinary team providing state-of-the-art Metabolomics for the Heidelberg and Mannheim Life Science Campus, and external national and international cooperation partners.

The following full-time position in Metabolomics research is available to begin November 01, 2022, or as soon as possible.

Activities and responsibilities

• Implementation and support in the planning of research projects in the field of Metabolomics in close cooperation with research groups of the German Cancer Research Center, the Medical Faculty, Hochschule Mannheim, and EMBL

• Development and optimization of new LC-MS and MicroLC-MS methods for the sensitive, quantitative determination of metabolites from various biological matrices, including human material.
• You will work in the framework of a large-scale BMBF consortium project and collaborate with local and national partners.

Qualification profile

• Experience and in-depth knowledge in mass spectrometry and chromatography

• PhD degree in analytical, biological, food chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology or comparable natural science discipline
• Scientific publishing experience
• High level of self-motivation, commitment, and work ethics; willingness to manage and initiate collaborative projects
• German language skills are an asset
• Excellent communication skills (English) and social competence

We offer

• Support for further training and additional qualification in mass spectrometry-based analytics

• Well-equipped research laboratories
• An innovative work environment and an interdisciplinary team acting in a strong national and international network
• Interesting and diverse portfolio of projects
• Possibility to develop and implement own projects and publications
• For more information on MCTP, please visit www.uni-heidelberg.de/en/mctp .
• The remuneration is according to TV-L E13. The position is full-time and limited until February 2026.

Please send your application with the usual documents (CV, certificates, photo, publication list, etc.) to the secretariat of the Centre for Organismal Studies by email in a single PDF document:

by October 17, 2022 at the latest.

We are looking for an expert scientist/postdoc in mass spectrometry-based proteomics, to join our multidisciplinary team in clinical cancer proteomics. The candidate will be based in the group of Prof. Jeroen Krijgsveld, and will be embedded in SMART-CARE, a Heidelberg-based research consortium funded by the German Federal Ministry of Science and Education (BMBF) aiming to leverage mass spectrometry (proteomics and metabolomics) and bring it to the clinic. With a team of clinicians, mass spectrometrists and bioinformaticians, we take a systems medicine approach to understand tumor relapse in various cancer entities. In this context, the candidate is expected to play a key role to implement proteomics in retrospective and prospective clinical studies, and to help bringing this forward to ultimately benefit patient care.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Develop and implement novel methodologies for (automated) sample preparation, mass spectrometric analysis, and data analysis of clinical samples (fresh and FFPE tissue, plasma)
• Lead the proteome analysis of clinical sample cohorts, in close consultation with collaborators in the clinic, and working alongside with a research technician
• Perform data analysis for QC and interpretation of large mass spectrometric data sets
• Play a pro-active role in planning and monitoring progress of projects, and in liaising with collaborators in the consortium
• Active involvement in reporting and dissemination of results at conferences and in publications

Prerequisites

• PhD degree in chemistry, biochemistry, or equivalent, with a focus on proteomics, and documented in first-author publication(s)
• Ample experience in proteomic sample preparation, and in the hands-on use of modern mass spectrometers and nano / UHPLC systems, ideally with experience in maintenance and troubleshooting of LCMS instrumentation. Experience with automated sample processing is desirable
• Expert insight in and experience with contemporary proteomic workflow, both for MS data acquisition (e.g. DDA, DIA) and data analysis using various software tools. Computer literacy and programming skills are a distinct asset
• Strong organizational skills to plan and oversee progress of complex proteomics projectsOpen-minded and enthusiastic team player, with strong communication skills to efficiently interact with scientists across disciplines. Fluency in English is required, and knowledge of cancer biology will be an asset

We offer

• Target-oriented individual further education and training opportunities
• Targeted training on the job
• Ticket for public transport
• Possibility of child care (crèche and kindergarten) as well as subsidy for holiday care for school children
• Active health promotion
• Company pension scheme
• Access to the university library and other university facilities (e.g. university sports)

The position is initially for 1 year with the possibility for extension (extension is sought). Salary: TV-L 13

Interested?

Applications will be accepted until February 28, 2022 and should include a motivation letter, a CV, and names of two references. Please send applications via e-mail (pdf, one file).

Medizinische Fakultät
SMART-CARE, Division of Proteomics, Dr. Roman Ladig
Im Neuenheimer Feld 581
69120 Heidelberg
roman.ladig@med.uni-heidelberg.de

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher to work within the SMART-CARE consortium to advance precision oncology through mass-spectrometry proteomics/metabolomics data analysis and biomedical data integration. SMART-CARE consortium is a collaboration between University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) and European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). It aims to develop novel systems medicine approaches to battle cancer recurrence, using the integration of high-quality proteome and metabolome mass spectrometry data with other ‘omics and clinical data. Cancer recurrence is the main determinant of cancer related death and a major global health problem. The surge of genomic technologies in clinical research has brought great benefits in disease stratification, yet genetic information alone is rarely sufficient to accurately identify the dynamic process of disease progression. Systematic analyses of proteins and metabolites using mass spectrometry in combination with statistical data analysis and mathematical modelling promise a new generation of disease stratifications and biomarkers that could be used to tailor precision cancer therapies. The SMART-CARE consortium brings together clinical, mass spectrometry and computational expertise to tackle the urgent need for developing and establishing powerful and standardisable methods for proteome and metabolome analysis, as well as leveraging the power of multi-omics and machine learning to achieve high precision and robustness. The primary goal of this position is to process and analyse proteomic and metabolomic datasets, together with other ‘omic and clinical data types, for the purpose of identifying biomarkers for predict tumour recurrence and treatment response. You will have the opportunity to shape your own research profile by pursuing research in method development and collaborative analysis of novel datasets.

Your tasks:

• Establish and apply computational framework for processing clinical mass spectrometry data (proteomics and metabolomic) to acquire analysis-ready data with high-resolution.
• Perform and automate data quality control, particularly sample metadata based QC, on the mass-spectrometry data, in order to identify and annotation potential technical confounders for down-stream analyses.
• Integrate MS data with other omics (genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics and etc.) and clinical data to infer biological and clinically meaningful information that can guide patient stratification and biomarker development.
• Collaborate with clinical and experimental groups in SMART-CARE to implement your computational methods and biological insights into clinical practice and decision making.
• Publish your computational methods and biological discoveries in scientific articles, and publish scientific software as, e.g., R/Bioconductor packages.

Prerequisites

• A PhD or equivalent qualification in quantitative biology (computational biology, bioinformatic or biostatistics).
• Profound skills in processing and analysing mass spectrometry data.
• Strong programming skills in R and/or Python.
• Experience with implementing machine learning and/or deep learning models for integrative multi-omic data analysis is a plus.
• You are enthusiastic in data science and advancing cancer research. You enjoy collaborative work and like to communicate concepts and results to other scientists in different fields of research.

The research group of Computational Omics and Precision Oncology, led by Dr. Junyan Lu, at Heidelberg University Hospital offers two fully funded positions for PhD Students in the area of bioinformatics and biomedical data science. Dr. Lu’s team works closely with the partners within the SMART-CARE consortium, which is a collaboration between University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) and European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). It aims to develop novel systems medicine approaches to battle cancer recurrence, using the integration of high-quality proteome and metabolome mass spectrometry data with other ‘omics and clinical data. The SMART-CARE consortium brings together clinical, mass spectrometry and computational expertise to tackle the urgent need for developing and establishing powerful and standardisable methods for proteome and metabolome analysis, as well as leveraging the power of multi-omics and machine learning to achieve high precision and robustness. Your primary research goal is to identify robust and translatable biomarkers for tumor progression, recurrence, and treatment response through analyzing and integrating high-throughput omics datasets (e.g. proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, genomics and etc.) together with clinical data. You will have the opportunity to shape your own research profile by pursuing research in method development and collaborative analysis of novel datasets.

Your tasks:

• Perform in-depth analysis on each individual omic dataset and conduct integrative data analysis on multi-omics datasets using various computational tools (e.g. statistical inference, network modeling, machine learning and etc.) to identify features that can explain the heterogeneity in clinical outcome and treatment response.
• Interpret the biological meaning of the identified features and evaluate the potential of those features as candidates for robust clinical biomarkers.
• Collaborate with clinical and experimental groups in SMART-CARE to implement your computational methods and biological insights into clinical practice and decision making.
• One of the two PhD positions will focus more on multi-omics data analysis/integration method/software development and the other one will focus on biological discovery and interpretation.
• Publish your computational methods and biological discoveries in scientific articles, and publish scientific software as, e.g., R/Bioconductor packages.

Prerequisites

• Master’s degree or equivalent degree in bioinformatics, informatics, computational biology, or related subjects.
• Good programming skills in at least one programming language, preferably in R.
• Good knowledge and understanding of the concepts of cancer biology, personalized medicine, and biomarker discovery.
• Experience with the analysis of high-throughput omics datasets (e.g proteomics, transcriptomics, genomics and etc.) and interest in implementing machine learning and deep learning models is a bonus.
• You are enthusiastic about data science and advancing cancer research. You enjoy collaborative work and like to communicate concepts and results to other scientists in different fields of research.

We are looking for a data engineer/technical assistant to work within the SMART-CARE consortium, which aims at advancing precision oncology through mass-spectrometry proteomics/metabolomics data analysis and biomedical data integration. SMART-CARE consortium is a collaboration between University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) and European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). It aims to develop novel systems medicine approaches to battle cancer recurrence, using the integration of high-quality proteome and metabolome mass spectrometry data with other ‘omics and clinical data. The SMART-CARE consortium brings together clinical, mass spectrometry and computational expertise to tackle the urgent need for developing and establishing powerful and standardisable methods for proteome and metabolome analysis, as well as leveraging the power of multi-omics and machine learning to achieve high precision and robustness. The primary goal of the position is to establish and maintain the data analysis framework for pre-processing, quality control, documentation, and reporting of clinical omic data, with the focus on mass spectrometry proteomics and metabolomics data. You will also have the opportunity to shape your own research profile by pursuing research in developing innovative methods from mass spectrometry data analysis and integration.

Your tasks:

• Assemble suitable computational tools (or develop novel tools when necessary) into a streamlined and interoperable computation framework for end-to-end processing, QC, and reporting of clinical mass-spectrometry data. Ensure the robustness, reproducibility of the framework.
• Work closely with the research team and partners from the SMART-CARE consortium to integrate tools developed within the consortium into the framework and provide a user-friendly interface for internal and potential external users.
• Support the research team in locating and using relevant data resources, and in ingesting newly produced data.
• Assist the group leader in maintaining the research infracstructure for the group.
• Participate in project/data management tasks, including collaborative data production, analysis, and presentation.

Prerequisites

• Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in bioinformatics, informatics or computer science.
• Strong programming skills in R and/or Python, as well as the ability to acquire proficiency with modern big-data management systems (cloud, object storage) and with data analytical tasks.
• The tasks will also require the programmatic construction of web interfaces, for instance using tools such as Rmarkdown and shiny.
• Have good organizational and interpersonal skills. Fluent in German is a plus.
• Interests in computational algorithms, statistical analysis, or biological discovery are a plus.