Research Associate - Biocurator 2 - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill : Job Details

A global higher education leader in innovative teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consistently ranks as one of the nation's top public universities. Known for its beautiful campus, world-class medical care, commitment to the arts and top athletic programs, Carolina is an ideal place to teach, work and learn.

One of the best college towns and best places to live in the United States, Chapel Hill has diverse social, cultural, recreation and professional opportunities that span the campus and community.

University employees can choose from a wide range of professional training opportunities for career growth, skill development and lifelong learning and enjoy exclusive perks for numerous retail, restaurant and performing arts discounts, savings on local child care centers and special rates on select campus events. UNC-Chapel Hill offers full-time employees a comprehensive benefits package, paid leave, and a variety of health, life and retirement plans and additional programs that support a healthy work/life balance.

Primary Purpose of Organizational Unit

The UNC School of Medicine has a rich tradition of excellence and care. Our mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of North Carolinians, and others whom we serve. We accomplish this by providing leadership and excellence in the interrelated areas of patient care, education, and research. We strive to promote faculty, staff, and learner development in a diverse, respectful environment where our colleagues demonstrate professionalism, enhance learning, and create personal and professional sustainability. We optimize our partnership with the UNC Health System through close collaboration and commitment to service.

OUR VISION

Our vision is to be the nation's leading public school of medicine. We are ranked 2nd in primary care education among all US schools of medicine and 5th among public peers in NIH research funding. Our Allied Health Department is home to five top-ranked divisions, and we are home to 18 top-ranked clinical and basic science departments in NIH research funding.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others whom we serve. We accomplish this by providing leadership and excellence in the interrelated areas of patient care, education, and research.

Patient Care: We will promote health and provide superb clinical care while maintaining our strong tradition of reaching underserved populations and reducing health disparities across North Carolina and beyond.

Education: We will prepare tomorrow's health care professionals and biomedical researchers by facilitating learning within innovative curricula and team-oriented interprofessional education. We will cultivate outstanding teaching and research faculty, and we will recruit outstanding students and trainees from highly diverse backgrounds to create a socially responsible, highly skilled workforce.

Research: We will develop and support a rich array of outstanding health sciences research programs, centers, and resources. We will provide infrastructure and opportunities for collaboration among disciplines throughout and beyond our University to support outstanding research. We will foster programs in the areas of basic, translational, mechanistic, and population research.

Position Summary

The Department of Genetics is seeking a Research Associate (Biocurator) in the Translational and Integrative Sciences Laboratory (TISLab.org), led by Dr. Melissa Haendel. TISLab focuses on areas such as automated and manual bio data curation, knowledge representation, semantic engineering, automated reasoning, and the development and evaluation of algorithms and software systems that advance these practices in support of artificial intelligence. The Biocurator will join a highly interactive, supportive, and interdisciplinary group of faculty, staff scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and students. The Biocurator position includes learning ontology development and annotation, as well as data quality assurance and consistency methods. The Biocurator will work on programs aiming to integrate genotype-phenotype knowledge for the purposes of rare disease diagnostics and mechanism discovery. This position will also gather research for toxicological parameters experiments and the phenotypic outcomes as documented within imaging data. The Biocurator will assist with data annotation and analysis from the literature and user data submission. The Biocurator will participate in meetings with the ontology development teams and calls with local and international domain experts. Successful job performance will require learning and implementing the curation framework and protocols developed in research projects assigned. The Biocurator will track the progress of their curation projects and will also provide feedback on curation tools and protocols. Major responsibilities of this position include supporting image and other data annotations using ontology terms and other standards for metadata. They will also work to expand the ontologies and standards as needed. Other responsibilities include technical contribution to research publications and preliminary work for grants and funding applications, as well as collaborations with community-wide efforts aimed at promoting open, integrated, and rigorous practices in research, data curation, and scholarly communication. The Biocurator will also contribute to the overall mentorship of trainees within the TISLab. Flexible work arrangements, including virtual/hybrid work locations, are an integral part of the School of Medicine's Working Forward initiative. As such, this position's work location is designated as virtual. Please note that the designated work location is subject to change based on the unit's business needs.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements

Relevant post-Baccalaureate degree required (or foreign degree equivalent); for candidates demonstrating comparable independent research productivity, will accept a relevant Bachelor's degree (or foreign degree equivalent) and 3 or more years of relevant experience in substitution. May require terminal degree and licensure.

Required Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience

Biocuration Experience. Experience managing informatics/information science projects

Preferred Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience

Knowledge of toxicological experiments or environmental assessments. Experience with Open Biological and Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) and related OBO Library tools. Demonstrated experience in the collection, storage, transformation, standardization, harmonization, and analysis of legacy data stored in a variety of formats (CSV, JSON, unstructured text, etc.).Experience modeling or managing semantically annotated data, e.g., use of SPARQL or knowledge graphs. Record of creation of semantic products such as terminologies or contributions to open-source software projects. Experience with virtual collaboration tools, including conferencing tools (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.), cloud storage services (e.g., Google Drive, etc.), communication tools (e.g., Slack, Skype, etc.) and project management tools and version control systems (e.g., GitHub, Airtable, etc.). Track record of productivity in the practice of research as evidenced through the development and dissemination of software, data, knowledgebases, preprints, and/or publications. Self-directed, able to set their own schedule and goals, and willing and able to ask for guidance and assistance when uncertainty and blockers arise. Able to communicate effectively in writing and orally with geographically distributed collaborators. This includes email and Slack, slide-based presentations, and leading meetings. Able to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees at all levels throughout the institution. Demonstrate commitment and participation in activities within the department, the university, and the broader scientific community that promote success and welfare for all people.

Special Physical/Mental Requirements Campus Security Authority Responsibilities

Not Applicable.

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