Gene Expression Design Co‑Op — Computational Biology

Missouri Ag Connection; Chesterfield (MO); Hybrid; USD 31,000 - 66,000; Part time

Job summary

Missouri Ag Connection seeks a motivated Computational Biology Co-op to support next-generation gene expression design capabilities. You will build and analyze large coding and non-coding DNA sequence datasets, evaluate gene expression prediction technologies, and apply machine learning to improve expression element design across crop species.

You will collaborate with computational biologists, genomics scientists, and gene design researchers to generate datasets, benchmark predictive models,

Qualifications

• Pursuing a Master's or Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Genetics, Genomics, Data Science, Computer Science, Plant Biology, or related field.
• Experience with data analysis using Python and/or R.
• Familiarity with genomics, transcriptomics, ML, or statistical modeling.
• Interest in gene regulation, regulatory genomics, AI in biology, and genetic design.
• Experience working with biological sequence data preferred.
• Strong analytical thinking, scientific communication, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Curate, integrate, and analyze coding and non-coding sequence datasets.
• Develop datasets for training and evaluating ML models for gene expression prediction and design.
• Identify crop-specific sequence patterns linked to expression across diverse datasets.
• Evaluate tools/technologies used to annotate, score, and predict functions of DNA sequences.
• Develop reproducible analysis workflows and document data processing methodologies.
• Create visualizations and summaries to communicate insights to research teams.
• Present project findings and recommendations to multidisciplinary stakeholders.
• Potential Project Areas: Benchmarking gene expression prediction and annotation technologies; developing data-driven approaches to improve expression element selection and optimization.

Skills

Python

R

Data analysis

Machine learning

Education

Master's or Ph.D. in Bioinformatics/Computational Biology

Tools

Python libraries

Job description

Missouri Ag Connection seeks a motivated Computational Biology Co-op to support next-generation gene expression design capabilities. You will build and analyze large coding and non-coding DNA sequence datasets, evaluate gene expression prediction technologies, and apply machine learning to improve expression element design across crop species.

You will collaborate with computational biologists, genomics scientists, and gene design researchers to generate datasets, benchmark predictive models,