Life as a Scientific Programmer
"My role as scientific programmer involves developing and maintaining software systems to enable the integration of many different types of biological data so that it can be displayed on the Ensembl website. This includes writing code, communicating with collaborators, presenting work at conferences and conducting training workshops."
Q&A with Andy Jenkinson, EMBL-EBI
Q. How long have you been in post?
A. Two years.
Q. What is your background?
A. I earned my BSc in Human Genetics at the University of Nottingham, and a MRes in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at the University of Leeds.
Q. What was your career path before coming to EMBL-EBI?
A. I was a computer biologist in the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute’s Cancer Genome Project, working on a wide range of computer programming projects using Java and Perl. I was also seconded to work on the Pfam project for a while.
Q. What attracted you to this role?
A. "It offered the opportunity to use my technical experience to work in a fairly independent manner: to set my own agenda whilst still being part of a larger team.
Q. How would you describe a typical working day?
A. It might begin with answering email queries from Ensembl website users, followed by a group meeting where we discuss pending issues and keep abreast of each others’ activities. Back at my desk I might write code for a project for a while and then spend the rest of my day communicating with collaborators about the progress of this project and taking that information into a technical meeting, where we can establish upcoming tasks.
Q. What is the best thing about your job?
A. I have many opportunities to enhance my expertise in this field of work, and I can see the impact of my work.
Q. What do you think of working at EMBL-EBI?
A. The working environment is very relaxed, informal and flexible. The campus offers the opportunity to take a break from work and take a walk around the wetlands or play a game of football.
Q. What are some of the challenges you face in your job?
A. My job is highly collaborative, and I work with many people from within and outside the institute to achieve a common goal - this can mean I have to manage conflicting priorities and complex requirements. My work also requires great focus, attention to detail and a proactive approach to communication - it is a real challenge to switch between coding and communicating.
Q. What advice would you give to someone applying to a similar role?
A. Some grounding in biology is important, but the tasks are mainly technical in nature and therefore an affinity and aptitude for writing code is essential. Most jobs in this area require both biological and computational knowledge, as well as specific experience in these fields. My role does not require a PhD, but a Masters degree is a common way to demonstrate knowledge of both biology and computing.
Life as a Scientific Curator
Q&A with Ruth Aktar, EMBL-EBI
"As a curator for EMBL-Bank, I check and annotate nucleotide sequence data that people submit to us. I also help develop EMBL-Bank; in particular the software we use to curate and annotate these data submissions. EMBL-Bank is part of the European Nucleotide Archive, so we collaborate closely with the other members of the INSDC: GenBank and DDBJ. Standards are incredibly important for making sure everything works as it should, so I also take part in developing standards for nucleotide sequence annotation."
Life as a Scientific Outreach Officer
Q&A with Bert Overduin, Ensembl Helpdesk & Outreach Officer, EMBL-EBI
"My job as Ensembl Helpdesk & Outreach Officer involves answering questions from Ensembl users, liaising with other Ensembl teams to resolve technical issues and to work towards improving the Ensembl resource. I also prepare teaching materials, organise and teach at workshops worldwide and occasionally represent the EBI as part of the team manning the exhibition stand at conferences."
Life as a Bioinformatics trainer
Q&A with Andrew Cowley, Bioinformatics Trainer
“My official title is Bioinformatics Trainer, but training is only a part of my responsibilities. I also help develop and test new bioinformatics tools, which gives me a chance to collaborate with bioinformatics leaders like William Pearson (FASTA) and Des Higgins (Clustal). In addition, I help run the EMBL-EBI helpdesk and am called upon to contribute content to our many websites.”