PhD position at the German Cancer Research Center (dkfz) and the University of Heidelberg

Description of duties
Hispanics are a genetically admixed population with European, Native American and West African ancestry components. Genome-wide association studies of breast cancer in women of European and Asian descent have identified multiple risk variants. Some of these associations have been independently replicated in Hispanics. However, little is known about the interaction between risk associated variants and genetic ancestry.

The main focus of this research project is the development and practical application of tailored statistical methods for the evaluation of genetic data from association and expression studies. The project is lead by Prof. Ute Hamann (Molecular Genetics of Breast Cancer, dkfz) in collaboration with PD Dr. Justo Lorenzo Bermejo (Statistical Genetics Group, Institute of Medical Biometry and Informatics, Heidelberg University). Methodological improvements will focus on the robustification of standard methods for the statistical analysis of genetic data.

The successful candidate will have the possibility to work at the interface of genetics and biostatistics and will gain substantial experience in both the practical analysis of genetic data and the development of novel statistical techniques.

Desired qualifications
We are looking for a highly motivated, well qualified statistician or (bio)mathematician, ideally with practical experience in SAS and/or R.
The candidate should have good analytical and communication skills, and be interested in working in an interdisciplinary team at the forefront of cancer research and biostatistics. Applications including a cover letter, CV and three reference letters should be submitted as one single PDF to (u.hamann@dkfz-heidelberg.de) and ( lorenzo@imbi.uni-heidelberg.de).

A brief description of the two research groups can be find at: www.dkfz.de/en/mammakarzinom/index.php www.biometrie.uni-heidelberg.de/StatisticalGenetics