Data Scientist

The Institute of Cancer Research, London, is one of the world’s most influential cancer research institutes, with an outstanding record of achievement dating back more than 100 years. We provided the first convincing evidence that DNA damage is the basic cause of cancer, laying the foundation for the now universally accepted idea that cancer is a genetic disease. Today, The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) leads the world at isolating cancer-related genes and discovering new targeted drugs for personalised cancer treatment.

Research within the Imaging Centre at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) covers a wide range of measurements, from equipment and technology development and evaluation, through biological studies in cells and animals, to clinical studies.

Locally, images are managed via a Research Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS), which complements the Royal Marsden Hospital (RMH) clinical PACS. The Research PACS is based on the extensible Neuroimaging Archive Toolkit (XNAT) platform (Washington University, St Louis), which is rapidly gaining traction as a leading solution in both clinical and preclinical academic research.

At the ICR, XNAT is deployed in three modes, each providing exciting opportunities for gaining experience in enterprise-level technologies:
•Identifiable patient data sitting behind the NHS clinical firewall: Data are backed up via a dedicated 200 TB geo-spread object store (disk only, Lattus-M with StorNext, quantum.com).
•Anonymised data within the ICR academic firewall: Data are backed up via the ICR’s state-of-the-art 6 PiB research data storage platform.
•Anonymised publicly accessible repository: prototype of the new Cancer Research UK national platform

Over recent years, ICR has recognized the need for investment in the latest computational resources and has recently commissioned and published a thorough Digital Review.

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Data Scientist to take an active role in all aspects of the XNAT platform, from cutting edge research in cancer to infrastructure strategy:
•data science: use of the platform to perform state-of-the-art analyses of clinical image data, using radiomics and other methods;
•software development: enhancement of the platform and creation of associated tools in the “XNAT ecosystem”;
•day-to-day management: operational oversight of 5 XNAT instances, including key responsibility in the area of information governance;
•interaction with end users: organising induction for new users, following up queries and problem solving;
•strategy development: liaison with the ICR’s Department for Data Science to perform integration of image data with “-omics” and other types of cancer data; collaboration with the XNAT development team in Washington University, St Louis; involvement with Cancer Research UK on the national rollout of the XNAT platform.


The successful candidate will be working in a stimulating, multi-disciplinary environment, alongside clinicians, physicists, bioinformaticians and biologists. The initial one-year post is likely to be extensible, but given the enthusiastic adoption of XNAT by the academic community, the skills and expertise acquired in the position are also likely to be highly transferrable.

The successful candidate will hold a Bachelor’s degree in computer science, physics, mathematics, computational biology or related field. A PhD in a quantitative field is desirable but not essential. In addition to excellent programming skills in both scripting and high-level languages (preferably including Java), web development experience is highly desirable as is previous experience programming for the XNAT platform. Demonstrated ability to deliver software tools, and experience in data integration and visualization are also required. The ability to work on high impact problems in a collaborative environment coupled with excellent communication skills and ability to communicate research findings and methodology, for audiences at a variety of different levels are crucial to this role.

The ICR has a great record in employee satisfaction thanks to its competitive salary and benefits packages, environment and career support.

To download a full JD and to apply please visit our website.