The Institute 
 
The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) is an international biomedical research institute of excellence, based in Barcelona, Spain, with more than 400 scientists from 44 countries. The CRG is composed by an interdisciplinary, motivated and creative scientific team which is supported both by a flexible and efficient administration and by high-end and innovative technologies. 

In April 2021, the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) received the renewal of the 'HR Excellence in Research' (https://www.crg.eu/en/content/careers/hr-excellence-research) Award from the European Commission. This is a recognition of the Institute's commitment to developing an HR Strategy for Researchers, designed to bring the practices and procedures in line with the principles of the European Charter for Researchers ( https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/european-charter) and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (Charter and Code) ( https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code).

Please, check out our Recruitment Policy:

https://www.crg.eu/sites/default/files/crg/crg_recruitment_policy.pdf

 
The role  
 
The Single Cell and Synthetic Genomics of Blood Formation lab (PI: Lars Velten) at CRG Barcelona is looking for a motivated computational or mixed computational – experimental postdoc to use synthetic enhancers, CRISPR screening and computational approaches to unravel the logic of gene regulation in blood stem cell differentiation. 
Blood formation is an essential, biomedically highly relevant, and complex process of cellular differentiation. Our group studies adult hematopoiesis using computational biology, single cell genomics (Velten et al., 2017, Beneyto-Calabuig et al., 2023, Scherer et al., biorxiv), and genetic screens (Schraivogel et al., 2020). In the past four years, we have established a research line using fully synthetic DNA constructs to understand how hematopoietic stem cells transform continuous transcription factor gradients into cell state specific gene expression patterns, and to engineer artificial, cell state specific hematopoietic enhancers from scratch (Frömel et al., biorxiv). In our primary hematopoietic stem cell expansion and differentiation system, we screen the cell-state specific activity of 10,000s of synthetic enhancers, alone or in combination with CRISPR perturbations of transcriptional regulators, using bulk and single cell readouts. 
In your new role, you would 
Develop a project on gene regulation in the blood forming system 
Analyze data from synthetic enhancer MPRA screens, single cell MPRA screens and dual MPRA-CRISPR screens 
Design experiments using these technologies, and collaborate with an experienced technician to implement these experiments 
Interact closely with both wetlab and computational scientists from the group 
Serve as senior member of the team and, down the road, co-supervisor of PhD students or technical staff 
 
Your work would be part of the project “Artificial Intelligence for Synthetic Genomics of Blood”, funded with a prestigious ERC Starting Grant. A 45 seconds video summary of that grant is available online. 
 
About the lab 
 
My interdisciplinary group investigates the biology of hematopoietic stem cells using a combination of single cell genomics, genetic screens, and computational biology. We strive to develop novel genomic and bioinformatic tools to answer longstanding questions in the field. In particular, we cover two main research lines, a) Gene regulation in healthy hematopoiesis) and b) Clonal function in ageing and disease. The lab has been established in January 2020 and currently consists of six members: Two PhD students, two bridging postdocs, one postdoc, and two senior technicians. We have received funding from the European Commission, the Spanish and German government, the Spanish Association Against Cancer and the European Hematology Association.  
 
Whom would we like to hire?  
 
Professional experience  
 
Must Have 
You hold a PhD in a relevant field (computational biology, genomics, molecular biology, bioinformatics, biotechnology etc.) 
You have demonstrated your ability to lead a challenging research project 
You have published at least one primary research paper during your PhD 
You have strong experience in the analysis of non-standard genomics data (e.g. Perturb-Seq, CRISPR screens, Nanopore, custom RNA-seq protocols etc) 
Experience in both exploratory and formal data analysis 
You have strong programming skills in R or python 
You embrace data-driven research and are willing to collaborate with computational biologists 
 
Desirable but not required/ Nice to have 
You have, in addition to your computational training, training in experimental work (e.g. cell culture, flow cytometry, cloning, library preparation etc.) 
A strong foundation in machine learning and statistics 
You have experience with deep learning environments such as tensorflow and pytorch 
 
Education and training 
A PhD in a relevant field (biochemistry, biomedicine, molecular biology, genetics, etc.) 
 
Languages 
You are proficient in English 
 
Technical skills 
Genomics data analysis 
R and python 
 
Competences  
Success-driven 
Strong academic writing skills 
Strong communication skills 
Ability to work as part of a team 
 
The Offer – Working Conditions 
Contract duration: technical and scientific activities contract, estimated 2 years 
Estimated annual gross salary: Salary is commensurate with qualifications and consistent with our pay scales. 
Target start date: January 2025 (flexible) 
 
We provide a highly stimulating environment with state-of-the-art infrastructures, and unique professional career development opportunities. To check out our training and development portfolio, please visit our website in the training section. 
We offer and promote a diverse and inclusive environment and welcomes applicants regardless of age, disability, gender, nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity. 
The CRG is committed to reconcile a work and family life of its employees and are offering extended vacation period and the possibility to benefit from flexible working hours. 
Application Procedure 
 
All applications must include: 
A motivation letter addressed to Dr Lars Velten. 
A complete CV including contact details. 
Contact details of two referees. 
 
All applications must be addressed to Dr. Lars Velten and be submitted online on the CRG Career site - http://www.crg.eu/en/content/careers/job-opportunities  
  
Selection Process  
 
Pre-selection: The pre-selection process will be based on qualifications and expertise reflected on the candidates CVS. It will be merit-based. 
Interview: Preselected candidates will be interviewed by the Hiring Manager of the position and a selection panel if required. 
 Offer Letter: Once the successful candidate is identified the People department will send a Job Offer, specifying the start day, salary, working conditions, among other important details.  
  
Deadline: Please submit your application by October 10, 2024 
 
Suggestions: The CRG believes in ongoing improvement and promotes a culture of feedback. This is one of the reasons we have in place, at your disposal as a candidate, a mechanism to gather your suggestions/complaints concerning your candidate experience in our recruitment processes. Your feedback really matters to us in our aim at creating a positive candidate journey. You can make a difference and help us improve by letting us know your suggestions through the following form. https://recruitment.crg.eu/webforms/recruitment-contact-form-suggestionscomplaints
  
The contract will be financed by the ERC Starting Grant AI4SYN 
"This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe under the grant agreement No 101041399 "