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ABI Associate Group Leader Application

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The African Bioinformatics Institute (ABI) is seeking mid career level scientists to serve as Associate Group Leaders within its distributed institutional model. Associate Group Leaders will play a pivotal role in advancing bioinformatics research, training, and services across Africa, while remaining embedded in their home institutions.

[ Clic k here for full details on the Associate Group Leader Requirements]

This form is for individuals applying to become Associate Group Leaders within the African Bioinformatics Institute (ABI). The information provided will be reviewed by the ABI Selection Committee as part of the application process.

Please note the following:

The Associate Group Leader position does not come with remuneration.
Applicants must currently hold an academic or research position at an institution based in Africa.
A letter of institutional support is required for your application to be considered complete (Guidelines for this letter are provided in the application form below).

We recommend reviewing the form in advance and preparing your responses and documents in a separate document, from which you can copy and paste. This helps prevent any loss of information, as the application may take some time to complete.

Deadline: 31 January 2026

Applications submitted by this date will be reviewed as part of the first round.

This form will remain open, and new applications will be reviewed on a periodic basis going forward.

Thank you for your interest in contributing to the growth and leadership of bioinformatics across Africa.

Title

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First name

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Surname

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Email address

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Please confirm your email address

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Your verification email doesn't match

Institution where you are currently employed

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Location of your institution (city)

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Location of your institution (country)

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Personal website/ORCID/LinkedIn

Please list your academic qualifications.

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Please indicate your current position

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If other, please specify your position

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What is your primary field of activity?

Select all that apply.

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Bioinformatics

Computational Biology

Genomics

Metagenomics

Transcriptomics

Proteomics

Tool/software development

Computer Science

Biostatistics

Epidemiology

Other

If other, please specify

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Which of the following domains best describe your primary area(s) of research or expertise?

Select all that apply.

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Human health

Pathogens

Plant and crop science

Biodiversity and conservation

Microbiome research

Computational methods and tool development

Other

If other, please specify

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Identify up to five representative publications where you are the first or senior author that best reflect your ability to contribute to the ABI. For each item, describe the relevance to the ABI in 1-2 sentences and include a full citation (with DOI or URL where applicable).

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Describe any bioinformatics tools, platforms, or databases you or your group have developed. For each, briefly highlight user adoption and impact in 2-3 sentences.

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Please provide a brief overview of your funding as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator over the past five years. For each grant include:
- Project title
- Role (PI or Co-PI)
- Funding agency
- Total grant value (in USD)
- Duration of award

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Please indicate your current responsibilities.

Select all that apply.

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Student supervision

Staff supervision and management

Teaching

Research

Lab management

Research group management

Thesis examination

Principal Investigator (PI) on existing grants

Other

If other, please specify

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Briefly describe your current responsibilities.
(2-3 sentences)

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Please highlight your experience with student supervision and mentorship, including the number of MSc and PhD students, as well as interns, you have supervised or mentored.

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Please describe the current composition of your team or research group. Include:
- Total number of members
- Composition (e.g., PhD students, postdocs, technicians, research assistants, administrative staff)
- Key roles or specialties within the team

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Please describe any other leadership positions you currently hold or have held in the last five years (e.g. chairing committees, leading national projects, coordinating collaborations).

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Please provide information about any international collaborative projects you have participated in over the past five years. For each project mention: Number of collaborators, countries involved, and your specific role.

* must provide value

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Please share any additional information about your collaborations that you believe is relevant to this application, such as involvement of students or training or developing tools.

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Briefly describe your proposed contributions to the ABI, including areas such as research focus, training activities, tool development, or service provision.

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Highlight any key objectives you hope to accomplish as an Associate Group Leader.

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What value or opportunities do you seek through your involvement with ABI?

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Which of the following best describes your organisation?

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If other, please specify

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Level of Institutional Endorsement.

Select all that apply.

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Dean or Director of Faculty/School

Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research (or equivalent)

Vice-Chancellor / President / Rector/Director General

Other

If other, please specify

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If your activities are also supported by a government agency or ministry, please briefly describe the nature of that support

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Please upload your CV with your full list of publications as a PDF

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Upload file

Please upload a signed (.PDF) letter of support from your home institution (Dean/Director level or higher) demonstrating their endorsement of your application and acknowledging their willingness to support your leadership role at the African Bioinformatics Institute. The letter must be signed by someone with authority, preferably the Vice Chancellor, but at the minimum, the Faculty Dean or Director. Additional support at the government level is welcomed.

The letter MUST include the following:

A clear statement confirming that the institution is aware of and supports your application to become a Group Leader at the ABI.
A description on how membership of the ABI will benefit the institution and how it aligns with the institution's mission and activities.
Details of any institutional resources or facilities that will be made available to you to support your role (such as office or laboratory space, computing infrastructure, access to classrooms, teaching release time or other relevant resources).
Information about financial or in-kind contributions the institution will commit to facilitate your involvement in the ABI.
The name, position, and contact information of the authorized institutional representative providing the endorsement. This person must have the authority to commit the resources described in the letter on behalf of the institution.
The letter must be printed on official institutional letterhead, signed by the authorized signatory, and dated.

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Upload file

If you have an additional letter of support, please upload it here.

Upload file

Additional Information
Please provide any additional accomplishments, recognitions, or context you believe is relevant.

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Are there any extenuating circumstances that may have impacted your productivity or career progression that you would like the review committee to take into account? If so, please briefly describe them below.
Examples may include, but are not limited to: caregiving responsibilities, limited institutional support, restricted access to resources or infrastructure, or other personal or professional challenges.

All responses will be treated confidentially and will only be used to ensure a fair and equitable review process.

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