Research Associate (SRI) - Biological Sciences - Regular Full-Time 2026-18951

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; Toronto; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) seeks a motivated Research Associate to support the Bioinformatics & Computational Core within the Biological Sciences Platform. The role spans multi-omics analyses, development of reproducible workflows, and training activities across researchers and staff.

Responsibilities include pipeline implementation, HPC resource management, collaboration with investigators, and contributing to core services and training initiatives.

Qualifications

• Masters/PhD with 2–5 years of research experience.
• which undertakes high-throughput multi-omics analyses.

Responsibilities

• Provide bioinformatics analytical support for multi-omics data.

Skills

Multi-omics analysis

Nextflow

Snakemake

Python

R programming

Bash

Docker

Apptainer

SLURM

Cloud computing

Education

Master’s degree or PhD in Bioinformatics/Computational Biology

Tools

Docker

Apptainer

SLURM

Job description

Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) is the research enterprise of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, one of Canada’s Top 10 Research Hospitals, and also a teaching hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. Research spans three Toronto-based campuses, eight programs and three scientific platforms. Our main aims are to understand and prevent disease, and to develop treatments that enhance and extend life. Our vision is to invent the future of health care. Each year, we conduct about $100 million in research across 500,000 square feet, including in the world’s first Centre for Research in Image-Guided Therapeutics.

We are seeking a motivated and collaborative Research Associate to support the development of a new Bioinformatics and Computational Core within the Biological Sciences Platform (BSP) at SRI. Research in the BSP encompasses fundamental, translational, and clinical science. Our scientists and trainees use a range of experimental and computational approaches and techniques to understand the mechanisms of healthy and diseased physiology to the functions and interconnections of molecules, cells, organs and systems.

The successful candidate will work closely with researchers, trainees, and technical staff to provide bioinformatics and computational support across a range of multi-omics-intensive research projects. In addition to supporting individual research projects, the position will contribute to the development of standardized, reproducible computational workflows, shared resources, training activities, and a cross-institute bioinformatics and computational community.

Summary of Duties:

• Provide bioinformatics analytical support and consultation for research projects involving high-throughput multi-omics data, such as genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data at bulk and single-cell levels.
• Implement and maintain reproducible bioinformatics pipelines and workflows, while evaluating and adopting emerging computational tools and technologies.
• Support the use of HPC and other computational infrastructure, including data management and efficient use of computational resources.
• Collaborate with investigators, trainees, and research staff to identify computational needs, develop solutions, and support training and knowledge-sharing activities.
• Contribute to the development and operation of the Bioinformatics & Computational Core, including service development and tracking, and improvement of Core capabilities.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree or PhD in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, or a related field, paired with 2–5 years of research experience, ideally within a core facility or collaborative multidisciplinary research platform.
• Demonstrated expertise in high-throughput multi-omics analysis, including hands-on experience with bulk/single-cell RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, spatial transcriptomics, or WGS/WES data.
• Extensive experience developing, adapting, and implementing reproducible bioinformatics pipelines in Linux/Unix environments using workflow develop tools (Nextflow/Snakemake) and containerization tools (Docker/Apptainer)
• Strong programming and scripting skills in R, Python, and Bash, alongside hands-on familiarity with HPC clusters (SLURM) and cloud computing.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills with specific research domain knowledge in cancer biology, neuroscience, immunology, or regenerative medicine.
• Proven ability to manage multiple project priorities independently or collaboratively communicate data insights effectively, and design/deliver bioinformatics training workshops for diverse research trainees.