Research Fellow, Molecular Epidemiology [LKCMedicine]

The Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) trains doctors who put patients at the centre of their exemplary care. The School, which offers both undergraduate and graduate programmes, is named after local philanthropist Tan Sri Dato Lee Kong Chian. Established in 2010 by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in partnership with Imperial College London, LKCMedicine aims to be a model for innovative medical education and a centre for transformative research. The School’s primary clinical partner is the National Healthcare Group, a leader in public healthcare recognised for the quality of its medical expertise, facilities and teaching. The School is transitioning to an NTU medical school ahead of the 2028 successful conclusion of the NTU-Imperial partnership to set up a Joint Medical School. In August 2024, we welcomed our first intake of the NTU MBBS programme, that has been recently enhanced to include themes like precision medicine and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare, with an expanded scope in the medical humanities. Graduates from the five-year undergraduate medical degree programme will have a strong understanding of the scientific basis of medicine, with an emphasis on technology, data science and the humanities.

Asst Professor Marie Loh is an Assistant Professor in LKCMedicine at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London. Asst Prof Loh is a molecular epidemiologist with a long-standing interest in the role of genetics and epigenetics underlying ethnic differences in risk and outcome observed in complex diseases. She has received several awards for her work in transethnic studies including the ASHG/Charles J. Epstein Trainee Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Research (Semi-finalist) and the Young Investigator Award by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). She has contributed to publications in journals such as Nature Genetics and Nature and is involved in multiple local and international collaborations.

She is shortlisting a Research Fellow to provide research support in the analyses of methylome sequencing (whole and targeted) data, with the purpose of improving early identification and risk stratification of individuals with respect to cardiometabolic diseases (e.g. diabetes, atherosclerosis, CVD) in Asian populations.

The Research Fellow will play a key role in supporting Asst Professor Loh’s research programme, mainly in, but not limited to, the following roles:

• Support data preprocessing and quality control procedures for next-generation methylation sequencing.

• Assist in the implementation of analytical pipelines for large-scale omics datasets, including next-generation sequencing and array-based datasets, with a primary focus on methylation data analysis

• Assist with sample preparation and collection, when required.

• Maintain detailed and accurate logs of pipeline runs, outcomes and any issues encountered

• Assist in preparing data summaries, visualisations and figures for scientific reports, presentations and publications

• Perform other duties related to the scope of work described herein, such as attending meetings with collaborators and participating in relevant discussions.

• Collaborate effectively with the research team and internal support staff to ensure the successful achievement of overall research objectives.

• Assist in the coordination and organization of project-related meetings, including preparing meeting agendas, recording meeting minutes or summaries, and contributing to seminars, lectures, talks, and workshops.

• Assist with procurement (purchasing equipment, materials and consumables)

Key Competencies and Requirements:

• PhD in biomedical sciences, bioinformatics, molecular epidemiology or related fields

• Experience with programming languages such as R/Python/Java or similar languages, and familiarity with Unix-based platforms is advantageous

• Experience working in cloud environments (e.g., AWS) is beneficial

• High motivation and willingness to independently acquire skills related but not limited to: next generation sequencing (particularly methylation analysis), population (epi)genetics, statistics and bioinformatics, high dimensional data analysis

• Strong communication skills, including the ability to clearly and concisely report technical issues

• Ability to work effectively in a team environment

Training will be provided to level the skillsets needed to perform these roles.

Hiring Institution: LKC