Summary

The Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research Center (CMMR) is an integral part of the Baylor College of Medicine strategic plan and serves as a hub for translational microbiome research by: 1) providing sequencing, informatics, and microbiological expertise and resources to drive and support clinical and basic research microbiome studies, 2) providing the infrastructure and critical mass of expertise to explore host-microbe interactions, 3) driving technology and analytical development to improve metagenomic capabilities for characterizing bacterial, viral, and fungal communities, and 4) translating new discoveries into the realm of personalized medicine where new therapeutics and diagnostics may be implemented. Over the past 10 years, we’ve collaborated on more than 500 projects with over 300 research groups from around the world. 

The CMMR is seeking an experienced and highly motivated Instructor to support microbiome, metagenomics, and virome research projects. This individual will serve as the primary liaison between collaborators and CMMR service teams, ensuring projects are appropriately scoped, executed, and completed according to agreed-upon timelines and deliverables.

In this role, the successful candidate will work closely with collaborators to understand research objectives, develop project and analysis plans, coordinate activities across laboratory and bioinformatics teams, and communicate results. The candidate will be responsible for maintaining project momentum, managing stakeholder expectations, and ensuring the successful delivery of project outcomes. Because projects often involve evolving research needs and accelerated timelines, the ideal candidate will be proactive, self-directed, and skilled at identifying challenges, implementing solutions, and driving projects to completion in a dynamic research environment.

Job Duties

• Provide project management for grant-funded research initiatives, including planning, resource coordination, risk mitigation, stakeholder communication, and monitoring of project milestones and outcomes.
• Create project schedules and maintain them throughout the project lifecycle.
• Coordinate research governance and compliance activities to ensure projects adhere to institutional policies, regulatory requirements, sponsor expectations, data use agreements, and project-specific requirements.
• Discuss project requirements with collaborators prior to initiation to ensure success and develop project and analysis plans based on project scope and collaborator specifications.

Scientific Coordination & Research Support

• Coordinate the development and execution of data processing and analysis plans in collaboration with laboratory and bioinformatics teams.
• Review and communicate analytical results, visualizations, and reports to collaborators and stakeholders.
• Facilitate troubleshooting efforts among laboratory and bioinformatics staff and help develop mitigation plans as needed.
• Contribute to manuscript preparation, grant applications, and other research dissemination activities.
• Collaborator & Stakeholder Engagement
• Meet regularly with collaborators to discuss project progress, present findings, and review analytical results.
• Facilitate communication with scientific collaborators and maintain strong working relationships in a proactive and service-oriented manner.
• Translate collaborator research objectives into actionable project and analysis plans.

Program Growth & Strategic Development

• Identify opportunities to establish new collaborations and expand the Center's research portfolio.
• Support the development and implementation of new analytical approaches, technologies, and best practices to enhance metagenomic research capabilities.

Minimum Qualifications

• Ph.D. degree in a related scientific field.
• Proficiency in statistical and data visualization software (e.g., R or Python).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate technical information to diverse audiences.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities simultaneously.
• Demonstrated ability to independently drive projects to completion, proactively identify obstacles, and develop practical solutions with minimal supervision.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with metagenomics/wastewater surveillance, virome, or next-generation sequencing technologies and associated analytical workflows.
• Experience managing complex, multidisciplinary research projects involving large genomic or other high-dimensional datasets.
• Experience coordinating scientists, technical teams, and collaborators to ensure successful project execution and timely delivery of project milestones.
• Ability to exercise tact, diplomacy, and sound judgment when interacting with faculty, staff, trainees, and external collaborators.
• Experience contributing to scientific publications, grants, or collaborative research initiatives.