Data Management Specialist

Company Description

The University Health Network, where “above all else the needs of patients come first”, encompasses Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and the Michener Institute of Education. The breadth of research, the complexity of the cases treated, and the magnitude of its educational enterprise has made UHN a national and international resource for patient care, research and education. With a long tradition of ground breaking firsts and a purpose of “Transforming lives and communities through excellence in care, discovery and learning”, the University Health Network (UHN), Canada’s largest research teaching hospital, brings together over 16,000 employees, more than 1,200 physicians, 8,000+ students, and many volunteers. UHN is a caring, creative place where amazing people are amazing the world. 

Job Description

Union: Non-Union
Site: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre 
Department: Computational Biology and Medicine Program
Reports to: Principal Investigator 
Work Model: On-Site
Grade: N0:06
Hours: 35 hours per week
Salary: $60, 642 - $75, 803 per annum:  To commensurate with experience and consistent with UHN compensation policy
Shifts: Monday - Friday 
Status: Permanent Full-time 
Closing Date: May 24, 2024

Position Summary 
The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM), University Health Network (UHN), is the largest cancer centre in Canada, providing more patient visits and involving more cancer doctors and specialists than any other oncology centre in Canada. The Computational Biology and Medicine Program (CBMP) is home to scientists and clinicians interested in computational methods used to aggregate, analyze and share biomedical data for basic, translational and clinical research. Within CBMP, innovative computational methods and scientific software are being developed to investigate the biological processes involved in oncogenesis, cancer evolution and response to therapies. 

Duties 
We are looking for a Data Management Specialist to help grow the CBMP at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and curate and track multimodal data analyzed in the program. The Data Management Specialist’s main roles will include:

• Working with CBMP labs to ensure that new data are cataloged with appropriate metadata at the time of collection.
• Managing a program-wide data management system.
• Monitoring use of internal storage space and deposition of data in public unrestricted and controlled-access repositories.
• Training staff and trainees on data and metadata practices.
• Researching, establishing, and documenting best practices for data organization and management.
• Contributing to the development of the data management system.
• Assisting researchers in cleaning, curating, and annotating CBMP data, ensuring published datasets adhere to the highest standards of data quality, including FAIR Data Principles, use of standards such as minimum information standards (such as MIAME and successors), NIH Common Data Elements, GA4GH standards, and linking identifiers such as Research Resource Identifiers (RRIDs).
• Harmonizing data collected through various methods, including whole genome sequencing, RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq, and other genomics data.
• Facilitating data access applications, and secure transfer of large datasets, including those containing Patient Health Information, within UHN and with external research institutions.
• Programming to improve interoperability and reliability in data management tasks.
• Other duties as specified by the chair.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in computational biology, bioinformatics, genetics, or a related field and 2+ years work experience in computational genomics research; or master’s degree or higher and 1+ years work experience
• Experience programming in R, Python, or both.
• Experience with analysis of high-throughput genomics data.
• Familiarity with NCBI GEO
• Master’s or doctoral degree in computational biology, bioinformatics, data science, computer science, genetics, or related fields, preferred 
• Authorship of publications or preprints showing excellence in data management and sharing (specify how in cover letter), preferred. 
• Familiarity with RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq, CUT&RUN, or single cell genomics assays, preferred. 
• Familiarity with other major sequencing repositories such as EGA, and dbGaP, preferred. 
• Experience in commercial database management, preferred. 
• Familiarity with Java or C++, preferred. 

Additional Information

Why join UHN?
In addition to working alongside some of the most talented and inspiring healthcare professionals in the world, UHN offers a wide range of benefits, programs and perks. It is the comprehensiveness of these offerings that makes it a differentiating factor, allowing you to find value where it matters most to you, now and throughout your career at UHN.

• Competitive offer packages
• Government organization and a member of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP https://hoopp.com/)
• Close access to Transit and UHN shuttle service
• A flexible work environment
• Opportunities for development and promotions within a large organization
• Additional perks (multiple corporate discounts including: travel, restaurants, parking, phone plans, auto insurance discounts, on-site gyms, etc.)

Current UHN employees must have successfully completed their probationary period, have a good employee record along with satisfactory attendance in accordance with UHN's attendance management program, to be eligible for consideration.

All applications must be submitted before the posting close date.

UHN uses email to communicate with selected candidates.  Please ensure you check your email regularly.

Please be advised that a Criminal Record Check may be required of the successful candidate. Should it be determined that any information provided by a candidate be misleading, inaccurate or incorrect, UHN reserves the right to discontinue with the consideration of their application.

All UHN Employees are required to be fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine series, approved by Health Canada or the World Health Organization, as a condition of hire. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination will be required. Should you be the successful candidate, you will be required to comply with UHN’s mandatory Vaccination Policy that is in effect.

UHN is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive recruitment process and workplace. Requests for accommodation can be made at any stage of the recruitment process. Applicants need to make their requirements known.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.