Featured RNA-Seq Job – scRNA-seq Biocurator/Ontologist position at FlyBase

We are seeking to recruit a new member to our team at the University of Cambridge to contribute to the FlyBase Drosophila database (https://flybase.org). If you are looking for a fulfilling, fly-related career away from the bench, and enjoy the challenge of organizing complex data and presenting it clearly and concisely, then this is the job for you!

A large and growing community of Drosophila biologists is producing single cell transcriptomic data with potentially high value to the research community. This includes both individual labs and also large-scale community efforts focussed on sharing and annotating single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) datasets covering the whole fly, such as Fly Cell Atlas (https://flycellatlas.org/).

The successful applicant will work closely with the Gene Expression Team (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/about/people/irene-papatheodorou) at EMBL-EBI, in particular those members responsible for the Single Cell Expression Atlas (scAtlas) (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/gxa/sc/home), in order to maximise the usefulness of the scRNA-seq data to the community.

The work will include:

• Identifying and prioritising published Drosophila scRNA-seq datasets for curation
• Curation of scRNA-seq experimental metadata into the EMBL-EBI scAtlas and/or FlyBase as appropriate
• Working with biocurators and software developers at FlyBase and the EMBL-EBI scAtlas
• To harmonise the scRNA-seq data models used at each database: To provide access to scRNA-seq data on FlyBase – To add links between FlyBase and the scAtlas
• Extending the Drosophila Anatomy Ontology as needed to provide accurate terms for annotation of scRNA-seq data
• Working with EMBL-EBI Gene Expression Team members to help develop interactive fly anatomograms.

Candidates should have a science degree; a PhD is required for appointment at Research Associate level. You should also have some post-graduate research experience using Drosophila. Other desirable skills are experience of working with scRNA-seq data and/or other genomic data, working with databases and ontologies and using scripting languages (eg. Python).

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 30 November 2024 in the first instance.