Data Science Intern, Biomarkers

Job Description

Research Internship Opportunities, Biomarkers & Data Analytics

At our company, we are committed to be the premier, research-intensive biopharmaceutical company and are dedicated to providing leading innovations and solutions for today and the future. Our mission is to discover, develop and provide medicines and vaccines that save and improve lives around the world. We strive to transform breakthrough science into novel therapeutics and vaccines and our scientific curiosity drives us to invent solutions to some of the world's most challenging diseases. Many begin in our research laboratories, where we push the boundaries of science with the hope and expectation that the medicines and vaccines we invent will lead to better health for society for generations to come.

In Singapore, we are located at the Biopolis, the heart of Singapore’s biomedical research community. Here, we are focused on identifying and validating new drug targets, exploring innovative therapeutic modalities and leveraging clinical studies and patient–derived material to understand biomarkers of disease or therapeutic response to increase our understanding of human biology and to drive a therapeutic pipeline to address unmet medical needs. Our state-of-the-art laboratory supports discovery biology and translational medicine and is an integral part of our company’s world-class network for drug and vaccine discovery.

As an intern within our research laboratories, you will gain the opportunity to work with talented and dedicated scientists, learn from leading industry experts, gain exposure and professional experience working for a research-driven enterprise; and use your passion, creativity, knowledge and collaboration skills to find solutions to challenging problems in your day-to-day work.

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

We are seeking a talented and highly motivated intern to join our interdisciplinary team and contribute to our projects in the field of drug discovery. As an intern, you will have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge technologies and utilize cloud-based platforms for computation. Your primary focus will be on enhancing and facilitating the drug discovery process through activities such as data harmonization, multimodal data analytics (imaging/ omics), and AI/ML techniques. Collaboration with scientists from various therapeutic areas will be essential, as you work together to develop and support scientific workplans both internally and externally.

In this internship opportunity, you will be working on one or more of the following areas: neuroimaging, wet and dry lab automation, digital pathology, spatial biology, cardiac and metabolic image analysis, and bioinformatics.

Multimodal data analytics for biomarker discovery, validation, and mechanism-of-action elucidation

• Conduct a comprehensive literature review to formulate methods, hypothesis, applications and relevant studies (e.g. epidemiological/clinical studies)
• Perform data collection, data cleaning, preparation and visualization for different data sources (e.g. big databanks, internal clinical or pre-clinical studies), which might involve harmonizing of multiple modalities, to derive biomarker and/or other relevant insights  
• Architect and manage databases for data management from public and proprietary sources.
• Assist in the development and implementation of high-throughput state-of-the-art AI/ML and other computational algorithms
• Optimization/ automation of existing workflows
• Usage of cloud-based platforms such as AWS or high-performance computing for computational needs

Collaborative research and strategic partnerships

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (medical doctors, clinical researchers, statisticians, chemists and biologists) on projects
• Participate in team meetings and contribute to discussions on project progress and findings.
• Present findings and insights to the team and stakeholders.
• Additional tasks, such as exploration of novel computational platforms, or helping to create data science materials, could be assigned

Examples of projects under this internship

• Neuroimaging data analytics for biomarker discovery and validation
• AI/ML and image analysis for digital pathology and spatial biology
• Wet and dry lab automation
• Computational strategies for integrated analysis of diverse biological dataset, such as transcriptomics, proteomics/peptidomics, lipidomics, metabolomics, and metagenomics data
• Development/validation of image analysis tools for cardiac and metabolic areas

PREFERRED SKILLS/EXPERIENCE:

• Enrollment in an Undergraduate/Master’s program leading to a Degree in a Computational Biology/ Bioinformatics/ Precision Medicine/ Engineering/ Computer Science discipline; other programs can be considered on individual merit
• Took relevant courses and had hands-on experience on projects related to Data Analytics, Machine Learning and Deep Learning. This may include projects related to Image Processing/Signal Processing/Biomedical Imaging Systems, Statistics, Pathway Analysis
• Relevant experience with one or more of these data modalities would be beneficial: medical imaging (e.g. MRI, fMRI, CT, whole slight images), omics (e.g., bulk and single-cell transcriptomics, proteomics/peptidomics, lipidomics, metabolomics, metagenomics)
• Relevant experience with biomedical datasets (imaging, clinical, omics) is a plus.

• Proficient with programming/scripting using MATLAB, Bash, Python etc and common libraries.
• Familiarity with data engineering techniques including cloud-based and on-premises database services, database management systems, APIs, and workflow development frameworks.
• Experience with Linux/Macintosh platform and use of command line terminal is preferred

WHO WE LOOK FOR:

• Strong interest in working in a research-intensive environment
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills
• Quick learner and passion for learning
• Have a positive, proactive, can-do attitude
• Good team player
• Strong problem-solving skills
• Availability for 6 months in a full-time capacity preferred

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.

Job Posting End Date:10/31/2024

A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.

Requisition ID:R308263