Statistical Unit Assistant

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is an independent, nonprofit organization providing adult cancer treatment and groundbreaking research focused on cancer and infectious diseases. Based in Seattle, Fred Hutch is the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Washington.

With a track record of global leadership in bone marrow transplantation, HIV/AIDS prevention, immunotherapy and COVID-19 vaccines, Fred Hutch has earned a reputation as one of the world's leading cancer, infectious disease and biomedical research centers. Fred Hutch operates eight clinical care sites that provide medical oncology, infusion, radiation, proton therapy and related services, and network affiliations with hospitals in five states. Together, our fully integrated research and clinical care teams seek to discover new cures to the world's deadliest diseases and make life beyond cancer a reality.

At Fred Hutch we value collaboration, compassion, determination, excellence, innovation, integrity and respect. Our mission is directly tied to the humanity, dignity and inherent value of each employee, patient, community member and supporter. Our commitment to learning across our differences and similarities make us stronger. We seek employees who bring different and innovative ways of seeing the world and solving problems.

The Bedford Lab is seeking a research technician with training in machine learning and AI approaches to biological data. The Statistical Unit Assistant will work directly with Dr. Trevor Bedford and will conduct research on inferring fitness and evolutionary dynamics of viral variants of SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal influenza virus. This research would build from previous work in the Bedford Lab that uses changes in frequencies of different viral variants to estimate fitness values. In addition to inferring fitness, this research would seek to perform evolutionary forecasting and predict future changes in variant frequencies. We seek to improve these evolutionary forecasts by integrating protein language model predictions. The products of the research will be academic presentations, peer-reviewed publications and open-source software code authored by the research technician.

At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, all employees are expected to demonstrate a commitment to our values of collaboration, compassion, determination, excellence, innovation, integrity, and respect.

Under general supervision of the PI and senior post-doctoral fellows in the lab, the Research Technician will perform varied support functions requiring knowledge and skills specific to the research study.

Areas of support could include:

Write code to interface biological sequence data with protein language models
• Statistically assess evolutionary forecasts relative to retrospective data
• Conduct literature reviews to assist in determining most suitable methods to be used in research
• Assist in publication of results by proofreading, editing, and contributing ideas
• Write up methods and results for dissemination
• Attend lab meeting and project meetings
• Keep detailed records of computational approaches and results
• Maintain a high level of accuracy for all work
• Perform other duties as assigned
• Attend project meetings
• Keep detailed records for experiments
• Maintain a high level of accuracy for all work
• Perform other duties as assigned

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree with a major in statistics, biostatistics, public health, or potentially any field with data manipulation experience, and/or 2 years' related experience with data, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Some experience or coursework in statistical software for data management and statistical analysis
• Inquisitiveness, desire to learn new skills, quantitative aptitude, along with the ability to think logically and systematically
• Proficient computer skills including word processing, spreadsheets and graphical displays
• Strong organizational skills, self-motivation and flexibility
• Proven written and oral communications skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Ability to work both independently and in a team environment

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Highly self-motivated and trustworthy.
• Strong methodological background and excellent communication skills (verbal, written and presentation)
• Willing to take up new skills and responsibilities, follow instructions, and capable of working independently in a teamwork environment.
• Have excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

The hourly pay range for this position is from $27.80 to $39.58 and pay offered will be based on experience and qualifications.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center offers employees a comprehensive benefits package designed to enhance health, well-being, and financial security. Benefits include medical/vision, dental, flexible spending accounts, life, disability, retirement, family life support, employee assistance program, onsite health clinic, income-based child care subsidy, tuition reimbursement, paid vacation (22 days per year), paid sick leave (up to 30 calendar days per occurrence of a qualifying reason), paid holidays (13 days per year), and paid parental leave (up to 4 weeks).