Summary

The intern will receive training in bioinformatics and biological sequence analysis. Their project will focus on investigating viruses of interest and developing visualization strategies to explore a three-year dataset of viromes collected through the Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute (TEPHI) wastewater surveillance program.

Job Duties

• Develops skills in command-line bioinformatics workflows on an HPC cluster.
• Applies analytical skills to interpet complex, multidimensional biological data.
• Strengthens science communication through clear, effective writing and visual presentation of data.
• Conducts bioinformatics analyses of viral metagenomic data using a range of tools.
• Develops and applies data visualization methods to interpret trends in viral abundance.
• Works with large-scale biological data to address public health research questions.
• Participates in regular team meetings to discuss progress and receive feedback.

Minimum Qualifications

• Must be enrolled in high school or be a high school graduate (or equivalent secondary education) or enrolled in an institution of higher education. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong computer science foundation with experience in programming language(s), like Bash, R, and Python.
• Foundational understanding of microbiology, including virology, genetics, and epidemiology.
• Strong record-keeping practices and familiarity with version control software, like GitHub.
• Desire to learn and ability to work well in a team environment.