Bioinformatician III

About OICR

OICR is Ontario’s cancer research institute. We bring together people from across the province and around the world to improve the lives of everyone affected by cancer. We take on the biggest challenges in cancer research and deliver real-world solutions to find cancer earlier and treat it more effectively. We are committed to helping people living with cancer, as well as future generations, live longer and healthier lives.

Launched in December 2005, OICR is an independent institute funded by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security.

Job Details

Position: Bioinformatician III

Location: MaRS Centre, Toronto

Department: Computational Biology (Genome Sequence Informatics)

Reports To: Interim Manager, Genome Interpretation

Salary: Commensurate with level of experience; total compensation includes a competitive benefits plan, plus a defined benefit pension plan (HOOPP)  

Hours: 35 hours/week

Job Type: Hybrid

Status: Full-time, Temporary for one (1) year

Position Summary

The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) is seeking a Bioinformatician III for the Cancer Genome Interpretation group, part of the Genome Sequence Informatics (GSI) team.

The Cancer Genome Interpretation (CGI) group is a team of bioinformaticians developing analytic approaches for reporting clinical genomic data. The ideal candidate will have proven skills in both genome biology and bioinformatic analysis. The Bioinformatician will collate sequencing results from clinical cases, identify and provide details on clinically actionable variation, and draft clinical reports for review by a board-certified Geneticist. In addition, the Bioinformatician will develop and validate new cancer genome analysis approaches to incorporate into our suite of CAP- and IQMH- clinically accredited assays. 

This role sits within the Genome Sequence Informatics (GSI) core group. GSI is the core bioinformatics team for the OICR Genomics program, performing analysis, controlling the data life cycle, and creating useful and dynamic reports at scale. We ensure data flows smoothly, securely, and correctly from the lab through to the clinicians and researchers who use it.

GSI has six focus areas:

• Lab tracking: Develop and support the open-source laboratory information management system MISO LIMS and associated applications


• Pipeline/Data management: Automate and streamline data analysis, tracking, and workflow management using workflow systems like Cromwell


• Data release: Archive data for long-term storage and release data to collaborators and public archives


• Reporting: Maintain a suite of specialized reports for quality control, forecasting, and lab operations


• Analysis: Perform project-specific analysis for collaborators, including alignment, de novo assembly, variant detection, quantification of tumour heterogeneity and purity, RNAseq analysis, variant significance prediction, and structural variant calling and any other specific project requirements


• Interpretation: Analyze and interpret genomic data using accredited pipelines and processes and draft reports for clinical cases

This position is temporary, full-time for one (1) year.

Position Responsibilities

• Interrogating tumour genomes for clinically reportable and actionable variation that can be used in clinical trials


• Preparing clinical reports for sign-off by Canadian College of Medical Geneticist (CCMG) board-certified Geneticists and presenting findings at molecular tumour boards


• Researching and developing cutting-edge techniques and software for future incorporation into the clinical bioinformatics pipeline


• Developing tools/software to evaluate performance and statistical validation of clinical sequencing data


• Investigating clinical applications of newer laboratory and computational techniques (fragmentomics, mutational signatures, immune inference)


• Writing detailed documents describing results of investigations, assay validations, proficiency testing, analysis and laboratory protocols, and standard operating procedures for clinical assays and accreditation
  

Qualifications

• A master’s degree in related discipline, with demonstrated experience in a scientific discipline, preferably in bioinformatics, oncology, genetics, molecular biology, or recognized equivalent


• Considerable practical and related work experience


• Demonstrated experience interpreting data generated from best-practice pipelines for analyzing NGS data, such as variant calling pipelines for genome and transcriptome sequencing


• Knowledge of NGS data processing tools (samtools, GATK, IGV, etc)


• Proficiency working with large-scale datasets in a Unix environment


• Some familiarity with a scripting and/or statistical analysis language (Python, R)


• Excellent written communication and interpersonal skills

For more information about OICR, please visit the website at www.oicr.on.ca.

To learn more about working at OICR, visit our career page.

POSTED DATE:         April 24, 2025
CLOSING DATE:       Until filled

OICR is committed to fostering a climate of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. This commitment is central to, and mutually supportive of, our research excellence mandate. We welcome and respect the diversity of all members of our community and we support an inclusive culture for all. We welcome all applicants, and encourage applications from racialized persons, Indigenous Peoples, women, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S persons, and others who may contribute to furthering a diversity of ideas within our community. OICR is committed to fair assessment of a candidate’s abilities, and consideration for diversity of thought, method, and experience. Providing an accessible workplace and recruitment process is important to us, as described in our Accessibility Plan (https://oicr.on.ca/accessibility/).  Should you require accommodation during any stage in the recruitment process, please complete the form at the bottom of page https://oicr.on.ca/careers/. Information received related to accommodation will be handled confidentially.  

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The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research thanks all applicants. However, only those under consideration will be contacted.