About us:
Lucence is a pioneering precision oncology company with a bold vision: a world where cancer is defeated through early detection and timely treatment. Our cutting-edge liquid biopsy tests use advanced molecular profiling to guide personalized cancer therapies, transforming how cancer is diagnosed and treated. At Lucence, we are shaping the future of precision medicine by capturing both genetic and cellular data from a single blood draw, bringing us closer to our mission of overcoming cancer.
We're looking for a highly motivated and detail-oriented graduate student for a 9-12 month internship in our Precision Medicine team. The ideal candidate will have a strong academic background in genomics, bioinformatics, or a related field, and a passion for applying genetic information to clinical practice. This role is a unique opportunity to contribute to key projects, developing skills in variant interpretation and pharmacogenomics.
Project 1: Clinical Variant Classification System Development 🧬
Description: The intern will work on refining and optimizing our internal system for classifying genetic variants for clinical testing. This project involves a deep dive into existing industry standards and guidelines, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, and proposing improvements based on a wide range of public information and scientific literature. The ultimate goal is to create a more robust and automated model for variant classification.
Expected Deliverables:
- A comprehensive report detailing the analysis of existing variant scoring systems and their methodologies.
- A formal proposal outlining areas for improvement within the current framework, including clear, actionable rules for ambiguous cases.
- A draft of a new, refined classification model, combining best practices from various sources.
- A fully tested and refined model, validated using a large dataset of both internal and external genetic variants.
- A detailed plan for automating the new model and integrating it into our existing reporting systems and databases.
Project 2: Pharmacogenomics and Genomics Database Curation 💊
Description: This project focuses on expanding our capabilities in pharmacogenomics and clinical genomics. The intern will gain a thorough understanding of these fields, including their clinical reporting standards and recommendations. The key task is to contribute to the curation of genes and their variants using both traditional literature review and modern computational tools.
Expected Deliverables:
- A curated database of genes and their associated variants, complete with relevant clinical annotations.
- A report on the current landscape of clinical genomics and pharmacogenomics, including key reporting requirements and clinical guidelines.
- Documented workflow and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the curation process, including the use of computational tools for data extraction.
- A presentation summarizing key findings from the curation process, highlighting critical gene-drug interactions and their clinical implications.
Learning Outcomes 🎓
Upon completion of this internship, the intern will be able to:
- Master Clinical Variant Interpretation: Gain an in-depth, practical understanding of major variant classification guidelines and how to apply them. They will be able to classify variants confidently, including resolving ambiguities.
- Develop Computational and Analytical Skills: Acquire hands-on experience in data curation, database management, and the use of bioinformatics tools. They will learn how to automate complex analytical pipelines.
- Integrate AI and Machine Learning in Genomics: Learn to leverage computational and other methods for tasks like literature review and data curation, significantly improving efficiency and accuracy.
- Understand the Clinical Relevance of Precision Medicine: Develop a strong grasp of how genomic data translates into actionable clinical insights for both hereditary disease risk and drug response. This includes understanding the specific reporting standards required for clinical applications.
- Enhance Research and Communication Skills: Gain experience in independent research, project management, and presenting complex scientific findings to both technical and non-technical audiences. They will develop the ability to propose and justify a scientific model based on evidence.