Descripción

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) is a cutting-edge institute addressing global public health challenges through research, translation into policy and education. ISGlobal has a broad portfolio in communicable and non-communicable diseases including environmental and climate determinants, and applies a multidisciplinary scientific approach ranging from the molecular to the population level. Research is organized in five programs: Climate, Air Pollution, Nature and Urban Health; Environment and Health over the Lifecourse; Global Viral and Bacterial Infections; Malaria and Neglected Parasitic Diseases and Maternal Child and Reproductive Health. ISGlobal is accredited with the Severo Ochoa distinction, a seal of excellence of the Spanish Science Ministry.

Lugar

BARCELONA, CAMPUS MAR

What We Are Looking For

ISGlobal is seeking a bioinformatician who is interested in taking over and managing activities of the project PREDIMED-Plus RCT during 3 months. The project aims to prospectively assess the association between a wide range of environmental exposures and body composition in adults with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome from the PREDIMED-Plus RCT.

Specific body composition components seem to be the key to the development of obesity-associated chronic diseases. In particular, excess visceral fat and loss of muscle mass, which occurs with increasing age, but also with unhealthy lifestyle patterns, have been associated with a higher risk for a broad spectrum of health outcomes including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

The recent study performed in the PREDIMED-Plus randomized controlled trial (RCT), demonstrated that the lifestyle intervention based on an energy-restricted Mediterranean diet and physical activity significantly reduced grams of visceral fat and percentage of total fat mass and increased percentage of lean mass at 3 years of follow-up of older adults with metabolic syndrome. More evidence on the topic comes from the observational studies in the PREDIMED-Plus cohort after one year of follow-up. In this sense, consumption of better carbohydrate quality was associated with concurrent favourable changes in visceral and overall fat accumulation. On the contrary, eating more ultra-processed foods was associated with an unfavourable body adiposity profile. Moreover, we also found that replacing sedentary time with physical activity at low intensities might be an appealing strategy for older adults to improve body composition (fat and muscle mass). Besides individual lifestyle habits (diet and physical activity), many other environmental exposures from the external exposome (such as air pollution, noise, built environment characteristics, etc) might also elicit an effect on body composition. In the current study, we seek to evaluate the potential role of these external exposome factors in the intervention effects over PREDIMED-Plus participants.

Training And Experience /Qualifications

• A Master's Degree in Bioinformatics and/or Biostatistics, with preference given to candidates holding both degrees.
• A Bachelor's Degree in Biological Sciences, with a strong emphasis on Biochemistry or Biomedicine. Other relevant science degrees may also be considered.
• Proven experience analysing clinical and omics data from population-based cohort studies, with expertise in bioinformatics tools and data analysis.
• Proven experience applying regression techniques, particularly in the context of clinical data and omics datasets, for predictive modelling and analysis.
  
  

Specific Requirements

• Proven experience in managing complex datasets, including data cleaning, imputation, normalization, and handling of missing data.
• Strong foundation in statistical analysis techniques, including regression analysis.
• Proficiency in R and Python programming for data analysis, with additional experience in other programming languages considered an asset.
• Familiarity with statistical software (e.g., SPSS).
• Competent in report writing, with proficiency in LaTeX for structured documents.
  
  

Key Responsibilities

• Data Preparation and Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA): Conduct an extensive EDA to ensure data harmonization, cleaning, and preparation for analysis.
• Exposome-Wide Association Studies (ExWAS) for Single-Exposure Models: Perform ExWAS to evaluate single-exposure associations while correcting for multiple testing.
• Development of Multi-Exposure Models: Develop models to evaluate the simultaneous effects of multiple exposures, addressing co-exposure issues.
• Longitudinal Modelling of Time-Varying Exposures and Outcomes: Develop models to account for time-varying exposures and their relationship with outcomes over time.
• Results Reviewing and Sensitivity Analyses for Results Refinement: Perform sensitivity analyses to ensure robustness and revise results through re-analyses and subgroup testing.
  
  

SPECIFIC DUTIES

• Clean data (imputation, outliers, duplicates, error checking, etc.).
• Transform data (z-score normalization by sex).
• Adjust for confounders (identification and residualization).
• Perform correlation analysis.
• Conduct cross-sectional and prospective ExWAS analyses with correction for multiple testing.
• Apply DSA/sPLS for multi-exposure modeling.
• Apply snPLS/DNLM for time-varying exposure modeling.
• Review results and perform sensitivity analyses (e.g., subgroups by sex).
  
  

AUXILIAR TASKS

This job description reflects the present requirements of the post but may evolve at any time in the future as duties and responsibilities change and/or develop providing there is appropriate consultation with the post-holder.

This job description is not a definitive or exhaustive list of responsibilities but identifies the key responsibilities and tasks of the post holder. The specific objectives of the post holder will be subject to review as part of the individual professional assessment process.

Skills

• Strong teamwork skills with a proven ability to collaborate within multidisciplinary teams.
• Problem-solving abilities, particularly in handling complex datasets with multiple exposures.
• Eagerness to learn and a strong capacity for self-directed learning.
• Adaptability and a proactive learning mindset to refine techniques and adopt new methodologies.
  
  

The post holder will adhere to ISGlobal principles contained in People management policy, including Equity, diversity and health safety. The post holder will respect, and accountable to ensure ISGlobal policies and procedures.

LANGUAGE LEVEL

• English (C1)
  
  

CONDITIONS

• Duration: 3 months
• Starting date:16/October/2024
• Contract: Full time
• Salary Range: Technician II D (20.400€ gross annual)
  
  

How To Apply

Applicants must fill in the request form and include the following code reference position: Bioinformatician_IDIBSAExposomeAA_Oct24, attach the CV and a Cover Letter. Each attached document must be named with the candidate name and surname.

The receipt of applications will be open until 15/10/2024

Applications will be accepted until 17.00 CET of the closing date.

Only the applications submitted through the request form will be considered.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

The interviews could be placed during the reception candidatures period.

Diverse candidatures are encouraged, that includes: gender, race, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, physical abilities, and political views.

SELECTION PROCESS

The Selection Process Is Designed In Two Phases

1- Interview phase of a technical nature, with the team that requires the incorporation. To assess the person's skills and CV.

2 - Meeting with HR with the finalist(s) to finish assessing the profile and discuss contractual and institutional issues.

If needed any technical test could be pass. A Psychological Competency Evaluation Test will be required for the structural or transversal positions.

In accordance with the OTM-R principles, a gender-balanced recruitment panel is formed for every vacancy at the beginning of the process. After reviewing the content of the applications, the panel will start the interviews, with at least one technical and one administrative interview. A profile questionnaire as well as a technical exercise may be required during the process.

In ISGlobal we are committed to maintaining and developing a work environment in which the values and principles of our organization are respected and equal opportunities between women and men be promoted in each of the areas in which we operate, not tolerating discrimination based on criteria such as age, gender, marital status, race, ethnicity, functional diversity, political leanings, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

ISGlobal supports the initiative #ScienceforUkraine. Therefore, to sustain Ukraine’s presence in the European Research Area and international scholarly community, candidates from Ukraine on all levels of scholarly career are welcome: students, PhD candidates, early career researchers and senior scholars.

We confirm our commitment towards the value of the diversity of our staff and student population and seek to promote peace, equity, diversity and inclusion as essential elements in contribution to improving health worldwide.