Lead Bioinformatics Scientist

Overview

This position is offered by 2Strands Biosciences, a startup supported by SGInnovate, focused on revolutionizing cancer recurrence monitoring. They develop an ultrasensitive and cost-efficient blood test leveraging proprietary allele-specific enrichment technology, which isolates tumor DNA from blood samples to detect residual disease earlier than traditional methods.

Role and Responsibilities

• Enhance and validate advanced UMI-based error-correction algorithms to consolidate PCR replicates and detect ultra-low-frequency mutations.
• Design rare variant detection models tailored for enriched circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) to accurately differentiate true variants from sequencing artefacts.
• Collaborate with laboratory scientists to verify algorithm performance using reference and clinical datasets.
• Develop modular, automated bioinformatics pipelines using Nextflow or Snakemake with containerization for clinical scalability, transforming research algorithms into robust clinical-grade workflows.
• Work alongside experts to prepare Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and documentation in accordance with regulatory and clinical validation requirements.
• Modify and optimize an existing probe design pipeline for integration into the 2Strands assay platform.
• Create algorithms for panel selection based on matched tumor-normal Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) data to enhance assay accuracy.

Candidate Profile

• PhD or equivalent experience in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Genomics, or related discipline with demonstrated expertise in next-generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis.
• Proficiency in UMI handling, variant calling, and statistical modeling of rare somatic mutations.
• Strong programming skills in Python and R along with experience in workflow management using Nextflow and Snakemake.
• Knowledge of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and minimal residual disease (MRD) assays is highly advantageous.
• Collaborative and proactive approach integrating computational techniques with experimental biology.
• Experience in somatic variant detection from tumor-normal WES using tools like GATK Mutect2, Strelka2, or VarScan2, including tumor purity/ploidy corrections using PURPLE, FACETS, or TITAN frameworks.
• Background in copy number variation analysis (e.g., CNVkit, GATK CNV), VCF variant annotation/filtering (using VEP, ANNOVAR, gnomAD, dbSNP for germline exclusion), clonality assessment, and variant allele frequency (VAF)-based prioritization for personalized panel design is preferred.
• Familiarity with modeling tumor heterogeneity and clonal evolution through tools like PyClone or ABSOLUTE to inform tracking of tumor subclones is a plus.
• Academic candidates with strong cancer genomics and pipeline development credentials are encouraged to apply.

Why Join 2Strands Biosciences

• Make a direct impact with your computational innovations on a diagnostic platform improving global cancer recurrence detection.
• Take ownership as a foundational team member shaping the computational infrastructure and influencing company direction.
• Benefit from momentum backed by venture capital and government enterprise support.
• Contribute to a mission-driven team dedicated to making life-saving precision oncology technology accessible worldwide.