Head of the Cohort and Disease Understanding (CDU) Department

***The position is available in Måløv (Denmark), Oxford/London (United Kingdom), or Boston (US).***

Deadline: 12 Aug 2024.

Are you ready to lead a global team of computational biologists in a cutting-edge research environment? Do you have a passion for leveraging computational analysis and machine learning to better understand chronic cardiometabolic diseases? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you to join Novo Nordisk as the Head of the Cohort and Disease Understanding (CDU) Department. Read on to learn more and apply today for a life-changing career.

The Position

As Head of the Cohort and Disease Understanding (CDU)  Department, you will report to the global VP of Computational Biology and will have line management responsibilities for a global team of computational biologists located in Denmark, UK and the US. You will have a mandate to set the scientific research and operational strategy for the team in collaboration with the VP of Computational Biology and other global Computational Biology department heads. You will lead the team’s mission to use computational analysis and machine learning to better understand patients using human cohort and RCT data in Novo Nordisk’s key therapy areas, including diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Line management of a team of computational biology professionals.
• Set objectives for the Cohort and Disease Understanding department and deliver results that have a significant impact on the results of AIDR, DSI, and Global Drug Discovery. Help team members translate department objectives into individual goals and evaluate performance in reaching goals.
• Support and mentor team members' progress along their career path using Individual Development Plans and foster a strong culture of constructive feedback within the team and in collaborations across the organization.
• Understand and apply cutting edge computational biology and machine learning techniques to diverse multi-omics data types including RNASeq, scRNASeq, proteomics, and metabolomics for disease understanding in human cohorts.
• Propose and guide computational biology projects in collaboration with disease biologists. Interpret and present results of complex analyses to diverse teams of scientists and stakeholders.
• Develop relationships with key stakeholders in Global Drug Discovery to ensure alignment with the global Novo Nordisk drug discovery strategy and portfolio.
• Provide input to the global AIDR Computational Biology strategy, including scientific direction, resourcing discussions, and operations. Guide the AIDR and GDD strategies for acquisition of new human cohort data.

Additionally, up to 10% overnight travel required, potentially international.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree required; PhD is preferred. Degree within a computational biology discipline, such as bioinformatics or genomics preferred:
  • A master’s degree with 9+ years’ relevant post-degree work experience, or PhD with 5+ years’ relevant post-degree work experience.

• Relevant experience includes some combination of:
  • Leadership of computational research teams in the field of human cohort studies within industry or academia (required).
  • Experience with people management, including goal setting and performance evaluation, IDP mentoring, and conflict resolution.
  • Experience of applying computational biology and machine learning to disease understanding through human cohort and RCT data, preferably in disease areas with relevance to Novo Nordisk R&ED strategy.
  • Experience working in Python or R to analyze data omics and clinical data.
  • Experience working in multidisciplinary, global teams and environments; comfortable with remote teams and asynchronous work and communication.
  • Experience in stakeholder management and priority alignment in a multi-disciplinary context.
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to present complex data analysis results and conclusions to project and leadership teams.

The Department 

You will be leading the Cohort and Disease Understanding (CDU) team within the Novo Nordisk Artificial Intelligence and Digital Research (AIDR) Computational Biology department. AIDR Computational Biology is a global department with colleagues in China, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Our scientists have significant expertise across a diverse set of disciplines in computational biology, bioinformatics, and machine learning, including multi-omic data analysis, functional genomics, systems biology, and biomarker analysis. CDU team’s mission is to characterise patients in a real-world context by leveraging human cohort and randomized clinical trial (RCT) omics and clinical data to better understand chronic cardiometabolic diseases.

The AIDR team sits within the wider Digital Science & Innovation (DSI) organisation. DSI is supporting the digital journey across all our therapy areas in Novo Nordisk Research and Early Discovery (R&ED). In DSI, we work in multidisciplinary teams and participate in drug development projects from early discovery to pre-clinical development. We engage in external collaborations to ensure access to the latest research and technology enablers and we focus on developing and retaining top talent.

Working at Novo Nordisk

At Novo Nordisk we use our skills, dedication and ambition to help people affected by diabetes and other serious chronic diseases live with as few limitations as possible. We offer the chance to be part of a global workplace, where passion and engagement are met with opportunities for professional and personal development.

You do not need to attach a cover letter to your application, but please include a few sentences about why you are applying in your resume or CV.

To ensure an efficient and fair recruitment process, please refrain from adding a photo in your CV.

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.

At Novo Nordisk we recognize that it is no longer good enough to aspire to be the best company in the world. We need to aspire to be the best company for the world and we know that this is only possible with talented employees with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. We are therefore committed to creating an inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity of our employees, the patients we serve and communities we operate in. Together, we’re life changing.

Novo Nordisk is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, colour, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal laws, rules or regulations.

We are proud supporters of Women in Data®.  Connect, engage and belong to the largest free female data community in the UK – visit: www.womenindata.co.uk to join our community.

APPLY HERE: Head of the Cohort and Disease Understanding (CDU) Department