Research Technologist and Data Analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital(MGH) in Boston, Massachusetts

Job Description:

General Summary



This position will contribute to projects as part of the High-Dimensional Immunology Program within the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center (VIC) (center website - www.advancingcures.org ) on the 5th floor of the MGH East Research Center, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA. The mission of VIC is to accelerate the development of new vaccines and immunotherapies for cancer, infectious and immune mediated diseases including type 1 diabetes and ALS.


Primary research activities include contributing to both "wet lab" and "dry lab" work as part of immune centered studies in the areas of vaccine development, cancer biology, and transplantation biology. Responsibilities including banking and preparation of samples for analysis, contributing to assay development and study design as well as the subsequent downstream statistical and computational analysis of high-dimensional data.


The studies include high-parameter cytometry (CyTOF and Spectral, high-dimensional imaging technologies (e.g. Imaging Mass Cytometry, Mass Spectrometry Imaging, RNAscope) and other complimentary assays. Analyses use both publicly available and in-house developed tools to perform QC, process, and analyze data.


"Wet lab" experience with tissue culture, flow cytometry, microscopy and "dry lab" application of programming languages (e.g. R, Python), and statistical models are highly preferred. Previous course work and experience with immunology and statistics is encouraged. It is expected that the position will contribute to abstracts, posters, and publications both technically and intellectually.


Of particular importance is adherence to institutional and federal requirements regarding patient privacy and data integrity in the management of electronic data. This position will be supervised by Dr. Patrick Reeves and engage with VIC laboratory investigators and to carry out assigned functions related to laboratory operations and research projects.



Principal Duties and Responsibilities



A highly motivated individual researcher with experience in biochemistry, immunology, or and/or computational biology and familiarity with laboratory research will contribute to the analysis of data derived from biological samples. Experience in application of statistics and data visualization equivalent to Master's level or higher is required. The candidate will be expected to develop and/or demonstrate proficiency in analysis of high-parameter imaging and cytometry data and subsequent statistical testing to identify relationships to experimental and clinical data. There is additional opportunity to refine current approaches and develop novel methods for data analysis.


Commensurate with the responsibilities and objectives of this role, applicant must have demonstrable experience and a good command of the skills necessary to plan and execute data analysis strategies in a semi-independent manner, including interpretation and troubleshooting. A good working knowledge of immunology fundamentals and/or enthusiasm to learn and continuously update with project specific knowledge is essential. Attendance of seminars, symposia and other learning opportunities should be anticipated and pursued.


Work will comprise the implementation of existing analysis pipelines in Python and R, as well as the refinement and development of additional ones. The position will require analysis of diverse sets of information and data to form a cohesive and thoughtful hypothesis and contributing to the design of experiments to drive the project forward. The applicant should be able to work well with a team of investigators with diverse expertise to develop and implement novel analysis pipelines. Also essential is the preparation of presentations and reports to provide a platform to summarize experimental accomplishments and learning experiences.


Excellent record keeping skills are absolutely essential. Detailed accounting of planning, execution, and analysis of experiments is mandatory, including logging of codes implemented and rationale of iterative refinements or design of new code. This position will entail an integral role in collaborative research projects; therefore excellent communication skills, detailed record keeping, protocol standardization, and attention to organization are essential elements of the role.



Skills and Abilities



1. Possesses initiative and lateral thinking to seek out information to inform experimental design, optimization, as well as data analysis and interpretation.


2. Solutions focused approach to systematically and creatively addressing challenges and process streamlining within projects.


3. Works constructively in team settings while pursuing tasks independently and able to set goals/priorities to meet objectives.


4. Shares commitment to cultivating a supportive, inclusive and diverse environment that values scientific rigor, exchange of ideas, thoughtful and intentional approach to interrogating research questions.


5. A methodical approach to record keeping. Essential to capture concepts and refinements through the arc of research activities.


6. Ability to follow detailed oral and written instructions, and provide clear feedback similarly


7. Effective written and oral communication skills to effectively engage with colleagues and collaborators in both academia and industry



Qualifications

Bachelors Degree in mathematics, statistics, computer science or similar discipline, Master's degree preferred with 3 years of cumulative experience.



EEO Statement

Massachusetts General Hospital is an Equal Opportunity Employer. By embracing diverse skills, perspectives and ideas, we choose to lead. Applications from protected veterans and individuals with disabilities are strongly encouraged.