Postdoctoral Research Associate in Mathematical and Statistical Methods for Genome Privacy

We invite applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Mathematical and Statistical Methods for Genome Privacy in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge. The successful candidate will join the research group of Dr Gamze Gursoy and work on developing new mathematical and computational methods for privacy-preserving human pangenome references. Human pangenome references provide increasingly rich representations of human genetic diversity, but their scale and structure also raise important questions about how information contributed by individuals can be protected. This project will develop new approaches at the intersection of graph algorithms, statistical methodology, optimization, privacy, and computational genomics, with the broader goal of enabling useful population-scale genomic references while limiting disclosure of sensitive information about the individuals represented within them. Depending on the successful candidate’s interests and background, research directions may include differentially private construction and analysis of pangenome graphs, privacy-aware graph algorithms and representations, statistical characterization of privacy-utility trade-offs, optimization of algorithms for large genomic graphs, and development and benchmarking of methods on human pangenome data. There will be considerable freedom for the successful candidate to help shape the scientific direction of the project. We are particularly interested in candidates with a strong background in one or more of the following areas:

• statistics;
• graph theory or graph algorithms;
• mathematical or numerical optimization;
• differential privacy or related areas of data privacy;
• algorithms and theoretical computer science;
• computational genomics, bioinformatics, or pangenomics. We do not expect candidates to be experts in all of these areas. Applicants with deep expertise in one area and a strong interest in learning and working across the others are strongly encouraged to apply. In particular, we welcome applications from statistics, mathematics, optimization, privacy, or algorithms who are excited about applying their methods to fundamental problems in human genomics, as well as researchers from computational genomics who are interested in developing expertise in privacy. The project is highly interdisciplinary. The successful candidate will have opportunities to collaborate with Professor Po-Ling Loh in the Statistical Laboratory, Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics (DPMMS), particularly on statistical, optimization, and differential privacy aspects of the work. There will also be opportunities for interaction and collaboration with researchers in the broader Human Pangenome Project community. The postholder will be expected to develop and manage their own research with guidance from the PI, contribute actively to the intellectual life of the research group, and communicate their work through publications, presentations, seminars, and conferences. They will join a collaborative group working broadly across computational genomics, statistical genetics, privacy-preserving computation, and trustworthy methods for genomic and biomedical data.

Applicants should have completed, or be close to completing, a PhD in statistics, mathematics, computer science, computational biology, bioinformatics, genomics, or a related field. Evidence of strong quantitative, computational, or methodological research is more important than prior experience in any particular application area. Strong programming skills and an interest in interdisciplinary research are desirable. The funding requires that candidates must not have been UK residents during the 24 months before the start date, nor be currently employed by a UK organisation or its overseas campuses. The appointment is for two years in the first instance.