We are offering a 3 year Career Development Fellowship in the Gilchrist lab for a highly motivated bioinformatician, computational biologist, or computational scientist, to take a lead role in an NIH funded project to radically improve the coverage and quality of the Xenopus tropicalis genome assembly. This international collaboration between labs in the US (Yale and UC Irvine) and the UK (NIMR), has been set up to take advantages of new sequencing technologies and develop the Xenopus tropicalis genome assembly from its current ~95% coverage much closer to 100%. This is a training and development position for early career post docs, and will give the successful candidate an excellent opportunity to establish themselves as an effective and innovative computational biologist.

The main aim of the project is to combine the existing genomic sequence data with new sequence generated by a combination of genome-wide and more targeted technologies, to make a substantially complete genome sequence for this important model organism. You will take the lead role in the computational aspects of the project, under the direction of Dr Mike Gilchrist, and be responsible for genome assembly and verification, and downstream gene modelling. The computational goals of this project are quite challenging, and may well require the development of new methods and approaches. You may, in addition, be involved in and contribute to other projects in the lab, including the elucidation of gene regulatory networks controlling early vertebrate development using Xenopus as a model system.

You will have well-developed computational skills, including fluency in at least one 3GL, such as C/C++ or Java. You will have successfully completed your doctoral studies, involving the application of computing in some field of scientific research, and will be skilled in finding computational solutions to scientific problems. Your strong and well-developed interest in biology will be an asset to the programme, although there is no requirement that your undergraduate qualifications will have been in biology based subjects. Experience of building and using SQL databases, and constructing web based interfaces, will give you an advantage, and mathematical and statistical skills will also benefit your application.

Salary range is from 31,513 per annum inclusive of Location Allowance and Bioinformatics Allowance. MRC final salary pension scheme is also available.

Situated in Mill Hill, North West London, NIMR is the largest MRC institute, supporting some 70 research groups and 500 working scientists. The Institute provides excellent training for researchers in a multi-disciplinary environment and is equipped with state of the art facilities.

If you wish to make informal enquiries please contact Dr Mike Gilchrist at m.gilchrist@nimr.mrc.ac.uk for further information.

Applications are handled by the RCUK Shared Services Centre; to apply please visit our job board at https://ext.ssc.rcuk.ac.uk and complete an online application form please include a covering letter and CV. Applicants who would like to receive this advert in an alternative format (e.g. large print, Braille, audio or hard copy), or who are unable to apply online should contact us by telephone on 01793 867003, Please quote reference number IRC37215.

The closing date is 19 December 2011

The MRC is an Equal Opportunities Employer
Final appointments will be subject to a pre employment screening

Article source: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ADO052/3-year-career-development-fellowship/

Plans in the mayor’s budget reveal a cut of 455 officers by the time London hosts the Olympics in 2012, the first substantial cut in numbers in London since power over policing was devolved in 2000. The mayor’s budget lays out the proposed cuts and says: “Over the three years to 2012-13, the number of police officers is forecast to decrease by 455.”

Scotland Yard have also announced a freeze in recruiting new constables, and in part blamed “the current economic position”.

Figures for the Met are available on the MPA website: http://www.mpa.gov.uk/statistics/police-numbers/

The decision of London & Partners, a publicly funded private company set up by Boris Johnson, not to take on the pensions of almost 200 current and former tourism staff ended up costing taxpayers £3 million, a London Assembly report has found. Len Duvall, leader of the Labour group on the Assembly, slammed the decision to “dump” the pensions as  “entirely avoidable”.

London & Partners was created in April this year to promote London. It was formed to continue the work of the Mayor’s three now defunct tourism and promotional agencies: Visit London, Study London and Think London. The decision to set up the new company cost London taxpayers a total of £5 million in “unforeseen costs”, according to the by the Assembly’s economy, culture and sport committee.

The new company decided not to take on the pension liabilities of staff transferring to London & Partners from one of the three agencies, Visit London, forcing it into administration and jeopardising the pensions of almost 200 people. But following pressure from the Assembly and an intervention by the pensions regulator, the Mayor agreed to bail out the pension scheme at a cost of £3 million.

The Assembly’s report finds that the £5 million total (£3 million to rescue the pensions and £2 million on start-up costs) “should have been foreseen and formed part of a cost-benefit analysis”2. "Ultimately of course", said Sir Peter Rogers, the Mayor’s economic adviser, "all decisions were taken by the Mayor as recorded in [Mayoral Decision] 658.”3

Deputy chair of the committee and Labour group leader Len Duvall today described the situation as a “costly fiasco” and slammed the Mayor for allowing the pensions to be “dumped”. The committee report concludes that the Mayor “could, and should, have prevented this from happening in the first place”4.

Calling on the Mayor to explain in detail how he intends to prevent a similar situation arising in the future, Len Duvall said: “This was an entirely avoidable situation which has cost London taxpayers millions and put pensioners and staff through needless anxiety. I welcome the fact the pensions will not now be dumped, but it’s clear the Mayor failed to assess the costs and implications of setting up this company.

“I expect the Mayor to take these concerns very seriously and respond to them in detail. I look forward to a meaningful commitment from the Mayor to the idea that, in future, organisations largely funded by the public purse should operate in a way that protects the interests of both London taxpayers and the pensions of any employees being transferred in to their employment.

“I hope the Mayor will reflect on these mistakes and provide the Assembly with further details of the absurd and wasteful situation of London taxpayers paying twice over as London & Partners scramble to buy up the assets that have been frozen by Visit London’s administrators.”

The Mayor originally said that the loss of pension entitlements for Visit London staff was “a decision that could not be avoided”5. It was only after pressure from Assembly members at Mayor’s question time, in committee meetings and following an intervention from the pension regulator that the Mayor agreed to “engage further with all parties to obtain a fair resolution”6. He announced a “scheme rescue”7 to ensure that the Pension Protection Fund did not have to compensate Visit London’s pensioners, as originally intended.