The O’Reilly Lab is seeking candidates for Postdoctoral Fellow ($70k-$80k) or Assistant Professor ($110k) positions at Mount Sinai (New York City) with a strong statistical/computational background, passionate about developing statistical methods and/or software in the fields of Statistical Genetics, Computational Genetics, Bioinformatics, Population Genetics, Genetic Epidemiology or Functional Genomics. The lab has developed numerous popular methods and software tools, including for detecting selection (Ped/Pop), performing multi-trait GWAS (MultiPhen) and for conducting polygenic risk score analyses (PRSice). The lab’s present major themes are:
(1) Producing and analysing pathway-based Polygenic Risk Scores, leveraging multi-omics data, to understand and predict individual disease risk
(2) Developing GWAS and PRS methods for admixed and diverse populations
(3) Using genetics to infer the causes of disease (with a focus on brain disorders)
For more details about the O’Reilly Lab’s research see: https://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/oreillylab/
Roles & Responsibilities
There will be flexibility in what the postholder works on, across and beyond the lab themes. The postholder may wish to have a more computational focus, contributing to developing current (PRSice/PRSet) and novel lab tools, or statistical focus, in which they develop and test new statistical genetics methods. Examples of projects that the postholder could perform include:
- Investigation of functional convergence of disease risk, and high-order interactions across convergent pathways, using the lab’s newly developed PRSet method or novel alternatives
- Stratification of individuals with a heterogenous disease into more homogenous subsets according to pathway-based polygenic risk
- Development of PRS methods tailored to diverse and admixed population samples
- Development of causal inference methods that use genetics to infer causal relationships among large multi-trait networks rather than only on one or two traits
Eligibility
Required:
- PhD in Statistical/Computational Genetics or other quantitative related field
- Strong computational skills (e.g. in R / C / Python / Bash)
- Experience working with genetic data
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
Desired:
- Good understanding of statistical or population genetic theory
- Good working knowledge of GWAS and PRS
- Strong understanding of PRS methods and application
Starting date
The position is available immediately but there will be flexibility in starting date.
Environment & Benefits
The O’Reilly Lab is a highly inclusive, diverse and transparent working environment. The lab has contributed to establishing the Mount Sinai Data Commons (Data Ark) Open Science initiative, the Centre for Excellence in Youth Education (CEYE) Bioinformatics Program, and to progressive Parental Leave policies. The postholder will have one day per week available to use as they wish e.g. for career development activities (i.e. effectively an 80% position), and will be encouraged to have a healthy work-life balance. There will be exceptionally good career progression opportunities and Dr O’Reilly will work closely with postholders to ensure their rapid promotion.
This position comes with a highly competitive salary and the usual flexibility offered by academic positions. Applicants from outside the US may have tax exemption for a position that lasts 2 years or less, in which case the effective gross salary would be substantially higher than advertised.
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai offers visa sponsorship, medical benefits, subsidised child care resources, and subsidised apartment rentals in Manhattan to Postdoctoral Fellows and their families.
Apply
Please email Dr. Paul O’Reilly (paul.oreilly@mssm.edu) with either informal enquiries/questions or to formally register interest (please attach CV).