Safety Data Scientist (EBI01664)

An exciting opportunity has been created for a talented safety data scientist to work on methods to characterise and quantify the potential safety liabilities of drug targets. The position is funded by the Open Targets initiative which is a public-private initiative between EMBL-EBI, GlaxoSmithKline, BMS, Takeda, Sanofi and the Sanger Institute to generate and integrate evidence on the validity of biological targets for drug development.

Based in the ChEMBL Team at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) the appointee will work with the Open Targets partners to curate data and develop pipelines that will help to inform on the potential safety liabilities of biological targets into the Open Targets Platform.

Your role
-Reporting to the ChEMBL team leader, you will have excellent attention to detail, strong communication skills and be able to interact with technical experts as well as scientists seeking solutions to their "real world" problems. The specific job responsibilities include:
-To develop and validate pipelines for identifying and quantifying potential safety liabilities of targets by utilising a variety of resources such as ChEMBL, clinical trials data, the scientific literature, adverse events reports;
-Curate relevant data relating to target safety liabilities from a variety of sources such as the scientific literature, prescribing information, validated web resources;
-Develop statistically robust analysis methods;
-Work with the Open Targets partners to assess, prioritise, validate and refine the resulting methods;
-To work with Open Targets core team to integrate the data and workflows into the Open Targets Platform.

You have
-A PhD (or equivalent) in a biological, chemical biology or biomedical science.
-Sound knowledge of disease biology, the mechanisms of drug action and the mechanisms underlying drug and target safety.
-Proficiency in at least one programming/scripting language (e.g. Python).
-Experience in data handling, manipulating file formats and working with ontologies
-Knowledge of chemical structure, functional groups, cheminformatics methods
-Good understanding of statistical methods and their application to data analysis
-Able to work accurately and quickly to meet deadlines
-Able to work both as part of a team and independently
-Good communication skills (both verbal and presentational)

You might also have
-Experience of biological data curation and knowledge of bioinformatics databases
-Experience working with safety-related data sources including FAERS, AOPwiki
-Experience working in a drug discovery and development environment.

Why join us
EMBL-EBI is a worldwide leader in bioinformatics. As part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), we are a non-profit, intergovernmental organisation funded by over 27 member states and two associate member states. We encourage personal and professional development and are committed to ensuring our employees feel valued, supported and empowered to reach their potential at work.

Surrounded by picturesque South Cambridgeshire countryside, our Campus provides employees with a relaxed atmosphere where the pursuit of scientific discovery and meaningful work, underpin every role. In addition, our employees have access to a wide range of benefits including:
-30 days annual leave per year plus 8 bank holidays
-Flexible work arrangements
-Unique pension scheme including 17% employer contribution
-Annual salary review
-Private medical insurance for you and your immediate family (including all prescriptions and generous dental & optical cover)
-Death benefit, long-term care, accident at work and unemployment insurances
-Relocation package including installation grant (if required)
-On-site library and subsidised on-site gym and cafeteria
-Casual dress code
-Free shuttle bus to and from Campus
-Extensive sports and social club activities (run on campus and remotely)
-Family benefits: Onsite nursery, child sick leave, generous parental leave, holiday clubs on campus and monthly family and child allowances
-Benefits for non UK residents: Visa exemption, education grant for private schooling, financial support to travel back to your home country every second year and a monthly non-resident allowance