Project Scientist, Cancer Biology

Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre (SGBC); Chennai District; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Job summary

The Centre for 3D Cancer Omics at IIT Madras is seeking a Project Scientist to lead wet-lab operations, tissue sample processing and assay development. The role focuses on deep molecular and genomic profiling of solid tumors, feeding 3D tissue reconstruction and multi-omics analysis pipelines.

You will oversee daily lab activities, standardize tissue dissociation, nucleic acid QC, biobanking, and data curation while collaborating with computational teams to ensure data flow from bench to

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Cancer Biology or related field with solid tumor biology focus.
• Experience with NGS library preparation and QC is required.
• Hands-on experience with tissue processing and histology workflows.
• Background in biobanking practices and SOP adherence.
• Experience designing and troubleshooting novel assays.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily wet-lab operations and handling of human solid tumor specimens (fresh frozen, FFPE, biopsy).
• Standardize protocols for tissue dissociation, nucleic acid extraction and QC.
• Maintain biobanking protocols, sample tracking and SOPs aligned with ethics and biosafety standards.
• Manage lab inventory, reagent procurement, vendor relations and instrument maintenance.
• Design, optimize and validate molecular and genomic assays (targeted DNA/RNA sequencing, liquid biopsy, spatial transcriptomics).
• Develop histology, multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF), IHC and novel imaging assays (hyperspectral imaging, 3D tissue profiling).
• Curate high-quality experimental data and work with computational teams to ensure wet-to-dry lab data flow and metadata alignment.
• Maintain electronic lab notebooks and contribute to reports, publications and grant presentations.

Skills

NGS library prep

Tissue processing

Assay development

Biobanking

Fluorescence microscopy

PCR/qPCR

Education

Ph.D. in Cancer Biology

Tools

H&E

IF/IHC

Nucleic acid QC

Job description

The Centre for 3D Cancer Omics at IIT Madras is a Focused Research Organization dedicated to advancing multidisciplinary digital tissue mapping and high-resolution histopathology in oncology. Operating at the intersection of clinical research, tissue imaging, molecular biology and computational science, we decode complex tumor microenvironments at scale. Our infrastructure integrates 3D histology, multiomics, spatial biology and liquid biopsy pipelines, with a focus on the unique genomic and clinical landscapes of Indian cohorts.

Workplace: On-site

Type: Full-time

Role Summary

We are seeking a motivated Project Scientist to lead wet-lab operations, tissue sample processing, assay development and data collection. The role focuses on deep molecular and genomic profiling of solid tumors, feeding 3D tissue reconstruction and multi-omics analysis pipelines.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee daily wet-lab operations and handling of human solid tumor specimens (fresh frozen, FFPE, biopsy)
• Standardize protocols for tissue dissociation, nucleic acid extraction and QC
• Maintain biobanking protocols, sample tracking and SOPs aligned with ethics and biosafety standards
• Manage lab inventory, reagent procurement, vendor relations and instrument maintenance
• Design, optimize and validate molecular and genomic assays (targeted DNA/RNA sequencing, liquid biopsy, spatial transcriptomics)
• Develop histology, multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF), IHC and novel imaging assays (hyperspectral imaging, 3D tissue profiling)
• Curate high-quality experimental data and work with computational teams to ensure wet-to-dry lab data flow and metadata alignment
• Maintain electronic lab notebooks and contribute to reports, publications and grant presentations

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Cancer Biology, Molecular Biology, Oncology, Biochemistry or a related life sciences discipline, with a research track record in solid tumor biology (e.g., breast, brain, GI, lung, head & neck)
• NGS library preparation (RNA-seq, WES/WGS, scRNA-seq), PCR/qPCR and nucleic acid QC
• Tissue processing, cryosectioning, microtomy, H&E, IF/IHC and fluorescence microscopy
• Experience designing, benchmarking and troubleshooting novel assays
• Hands-on experience with clinical tumor samples and biobanking standard

Preferred

• Experience in high-throughput core facilities, biotech startups or multi-institutional consortia
• Familiarity with tissue clearing, 3D histopathology or optical imaging
• Working knowledge of R/Python for data QC and ImageJ/QuPath