Computational Biologist- Framingham/MA

Job description

Computational Biologist

The Translational Sciences Group in Sanofi strives to generate scientific knowledge that translates into transformative therapies for patients with unmet medical needs.  Translational Sciences is building a world-class Bioinformatics team that is passionate to contribute to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for patients.  Translational Sciences Bioinformatics team is seeking highly motivated computational biology scientists to contribute to in silico analytical projects for a number of indications of interest to Sanofi. 

·  The successful candidate will have the training, knowledge and expertise in the application of computational biology approaches on a diverse set of biological datasets to develop actionable hypotheses. 
·  The successful candidate would be instrumental in the development and application of biostatistical, and machine learning methodologies to solve biological problems, in addition to having excellent oral and written communication skills. 
·  The successful candidate would have the ability to learn and acquire new techniques and methodologies in the computational biology space. 
·  The selected candidate is expected to contribute to and lead projects and develop analytical strategies for the identification of novel therapeutic targets, the discovery of predictive biomarkers for patients’ stratification, and analysis of molecular, real-world and clinical data to assess drug (re-)positioning opportunities. 
·  The successful candidate would have key strengths in data integration strategies as key to building and progressing pipeline for patients.  This exciting role will afford talented Computational Biology scientists the opportunity to translate their data-informed ideas into novel actionable therapeutic hypotheses.

Summary of Key Responsibilities

·  Integrate and lead hypotheses generation from multi-platform and diverse data sets by employing sound computational biology approaches, for various aspects of drug discovery and development, in a pan-therapeutic manner
·  Develop and apply innovative and creative computational approaches to understand complex disease conditions using multi-dimensional –omics and clinical data
·  Contribute to projects to Identify candidate therapeutic targets and biomarkers for indications of interest, through integrated analysis of high-throughput molecular data, real-world data and clinical phenotypes
·  Explore opportunities to re-position existing drugs for novel indications
·  Collaborate with wet-lab and computational scientific teams and help the group champion projects from discovery to early clinical development.
·  Prepare publications, research and clinical/regulatory documentation in accordance with Sanofi quality standards.

Essential Qualifications

·  PhD in computational biology, computer science, bioinformatics, biophysics, statistics, or a related quantitative science field with 0-3 years of project-based work in computational/quantitative data analysis in biology related fields
·  Proficiency in analyzing data with R/Bioconductor, Python, Matlab or Pipeline pilot
·  Working knowledge of Linux/HPC and shell scripting
·  Strong interested in biology and caring for developing novel therapeutic intervention strategies for patients with unmet disease conditions, and an ability to liaise with scientists from multiple therapy areas to help define and address biological questions with computational and analytical approach

Preferred Qualifications

·  Ability to develop, benchmark and apply predictive algorithms to identify novel biomarkers, dissect gene/disease relationships and generate hypotheses
·  Proficiency in biostatistics, linear/non-linear regression models, dimensionality reduction, clustering, AI/machine learning methods, is a plus
·  Specific knowledge & experience in one or more of the following would be a plus: image analysis, natural language processing, automated document generation, reinforcement learning, control theory, knowledge representation (semantic models, graph databases, etc.), distributed systems and high-performance computing methods.
·  Knowledge of artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches (e.g. classification, clustering, artificial neural networks, deep learning) on clinical data sets (biomarker profiles, genome-wide datasets, medical imaging data, continuous data from wearable devices) is desired
·  Experience with Bayesian analysis and causal inference
·  Excellent written and oral communication skills
·  Excellent interpersonal and team skills
·  Established publication record

Sanofi Inc. and its U.S. affiliates are Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employers committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; creed; religion; national origin; age; ancestry; nationality; marital, domestic partnership or civil union status; sex, gender, gender identity or expression; affectional or sexual orientation; disability; veteran or military status or liability for military status; domestic violence victim status; atypical cellular or blood trait; genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing) or any other characteristic protected by law.

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At Sanofi diversity and inclusion is foundational to how we operate and embedded in our Core Values. We recognize to truly tap into the richness diversity brings we must lead with inclusion and have a workplace where those differences can thrive and be leveraged to empower the lives of our colleagues, patients and customers. We respect and celebrate the diversity of our people, their backgrounds and experiences and provide equal opportunity for all.