Researcher 6, Data Scientist in Food Animal Biology and Production Systems. Located in the G.E.M.S/IAA, a CFANS Interdisciplinary Initiative, St. Paul Campus, University of Minnesota. This is a 12-month, 100% time, annually renewable appointment.  The position has research funding by way of MnDrive (Minnesota’s Discovery, Research, and InnoVation Economy).  This person will hold an adjunct position in the Department of Animal Science, subject to departmental approval, and will work closely with the Integrated Animal Systems Biology (IASB) Team.

DESCRIPTION

Optimizing resources in food animal production requires the integration of fundamental, complex biological processes involving numerous nutrition and health interventions with economics and business models to create new knowledge for more effective decision-making. The person in this position is expected to be a core member of the IAA/G.E.M.S team working closely with the IASB. They will also play an essential role in continuing to develop collaborations with faculty in the International Science and Technology Policy and Practice Center (InSTePP), Center for Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS), and various current and prospective external partners. Expertise in managing large data sets, machine learning, mathematical modeling, and informatics is essential.

This is a 100% research position. The successful candidate will be expected to:

1. Work in a team environment to assist in the development of core integrated animal systems biology. 40%
   1. Interface with the Department of Animal Science faculty members to determine their data collection, transfer, interoperability, analysis, and sharing needs, propose data analysis models, establish data libraries (metabolites, nucleic acid data on genes and microbes, data on animal physiological responses to diets and diseases), and assist IASB and other Animal Science faculty to integrate data across disciplines in multiple research projects.
   2. Assist in development and implementation of analytical platforms for analyzing large-scale data on animal genomics and microbiome, production system productivity interactions involving  nutrition, housing systems, environmental impacts, health status, economics,  and other biotic and abiotic influences on animal systems.
   3. Contribute to ongoing development and maintenance of G.E.M.S.™/IAA ontologies and controlled vocabularies to ensure interoperability of animal systems biophysical data with the other databases in G.E.M.S™/IAA.
2. Strengthen collaboration and networking among members of the IASB team, college and university-wide ag and life sciences informatics, IAA, and external academic, government, and industrial sources of agricultural data and information.  30%
   1. Facilitate networking and information exchange among these teams/domains to identify potential research projects and research collaborations.
   2. Aid in the analysis and integration of large-scale data sets produced by various sources, and conduct data mining to identify potential patterns that can serve as researchable questions for research proposals.
   3. Contribute to joint grant writing efforts among these teams/domains.
3. Coordinate and contribute to writing interdisciplinary publications including journal articles, book chapters, presentations, and online content. 15%
4. Design and assist in the development of apps with easy to use interfaces that aggregate data from micro to macro scales for decision-making involving animal systems. 15%

SALARY AND BENEFITS

Salary is competitive and commensurate with the professional experience and qualifications. Fringe benefits include employee health, dental, and faculty life/disability insurance, social security, faculty retirement and opportunities for professional development.