BACKGROUND

A graduate student positions is available in Oncinfo Lab starting September 2016. The salary is highly competitive, $25,000-$28,000 per year. If you are interested in joining the lab, you need to contact the PI by April 15.

Dr. Habil Zare is the founder of Oncinfo Lab, which has active collaborations with the British Columbia Cancer Agency, an outstanding research reputation in oncology throughout the world. Also, Oncinfo Lab collaborates with R&D departments of top pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis. See http://oncinfo.org for more details. Texas State University is located in Greater Austin Area, Texas. It is an Emerging Research University aiming to become a National Research University in the future.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The successful candidates will contribute to development and application of advanced machine learning techniques to analyze RNA-seq, DNA methylation, and other omics data from large cohorts. They will contribute to highly collaborative studies which are designed to infer biological information from gene networks by modeling data using Bayesian networks, co-expression networks, and so on. The results are expected to be published in highly ranked journals.

REQUIREMENTS

Required qualifications: By the time of appointment, the candidate should have a BS in computer science, bioinformatics, biology, or a closely related field. Candidates must have a strong background in molecular biology and computer programing. However, exceptionally strong candidates with either background who are highly motivated for learning new concepts and developing novel techniques will be considered. Ability for critical thinking and independent learning, excellent written and oral communication skills, and prior experience in writing scripts and code are essential.

PREFERENCES

Preferred qualifications: Above average knowledge in machine learning , mathematics, computational biology, bioinformatics, statistics, R, prior research experience in a related field, experience in multidisciplinary research, or a strong record in publishing scientific papers can increase chance for acceptance.

LOCALE

San Marcos, TX, USA. Only 45 minutes away from downtown Austin and downtown San Antonio.

COMPENSATION

All lab members are financially supported. Salary of the successful grade student depends on their performance and varies in the range of $25,000-$28,000 per year. The annual tuition fee is about $8K-$9K and cost of living is relatively low in Texas ($12K).

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates are encouraged to email a current CV and a short cover letter to Dr. Habil Zare by April 15. While the position is open until filled, late communication can decrease chance of acceptance. Also, the candidate should apply to the Department of Computer Science at Texas State University before the university deadline in Jun 2015.

Visit http://cs.txstate.edu/~h_z14/ for the PI's contact information.
Visit http://cs.txstate.edu/graduate_program/ for information on the Masters program.

DEADLINE

Contact the PI before April 15. Also, see the above link for more details.

POLICY

Texas State University is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer and encourages applications from women, minority, and international candidates.