Senior Computational Biologist

Champalimaud Foundation; Portugal; On-site; EUR 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

12-month contract

Competitive remuneration package

Job summary

Champalimaud Foundation invites a highly motivated computational biologist to join the Cancer Dormancy & Immunity Lab on a project supported by an AACR Trailblazer grant. The fellowship focuses on applying advanced computational methods to understand neuro-immune and neuro-stromal interactions in liver physiology and disease, with emphasis on metastasis formation.

The role combines single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, functional genomics, and large-scale data analyses.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Computational Biology or related field is required.
• Strong training in math, statistics, and ML for complex data analysis.
• Proficiency in Python and/or R with robust programming experience.

Responsibilities

• Apply cutting-edge computation to cancer biology problems.
• Leverage multimodal data (single-cell, spatial) to study liver metastases.
• Collaborate with wet-lab colleagues across biology and translational medicine.
• Present findings at conferences and publish insights.

Skills

Python

R

Single-cell analysis

Spatial transcriptomics

Machine learning

Data integration

GitHub

Communication

Education

PhD in Computational Biology or related

Strong mathematical/statistical background

Experience in liver cancer context

Tools

Jupyter

R

Job description

Organisation/Company Champalimaud Foundation Research Field Computer science Biological sciences Medical sciences > Cancer research Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 27 Nov 2026 - 17:00 (Europe/Lisbon) Country Portugal Type of Contract Other Type of Contract Extra Information Fellowship Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 40 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The Cancer Dormancy & Immunity lab ( https://correialab.com/ ) headed by Ana Luísa Correia is seeking a highly motivated computational biologist to join us on a project supported by an AACR Trailblazer grant.
The position focuses on applying cutting edge computational methods to understand neuro-immune and neuro-stromal interactions in the context of liver physiology and disease, particularly during metastasis formation. Spanning single cell transcriptomics, spatial transcriptomics and functional genomics, the fellow will lead large scale integrative analyses to delineate the complex and overlooked role that neuro-immune and neuro-stromal interactions might play in cancer progression.
While this position is computational, the project is highly collaborative, involving regular interaction with wet laboratory colleagues in Cancer Biology, Immunology, Neuroscience and Translational Medicine.

The Opportunity:

• Work closely with computational and experimental colleagues to apply cutting edge computation to impactful scientific problems in cancer biology
• Leverage multimodal high dimensional data (including single cell and spatial transcriptomics) to investigate the role of neuro-immune and neuro-stromal interactions in the formation of liver metastases.
• Exploratory research with the potential for real impact on patients
• Present at scientific conferences and publish scientific insights

Employer: Champalimaud Foundation
Department: Champalimaud Research Program | Champalimaud Clinical Center | Lab | Unit
Website: correialab.com
Number and type of fellowships or contracts to be awarded: 1 fellowship
Application start date:*October 29, 2026
Application closing date: whenever filled
Required Education Level: PhD

• Ph.D. in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Cancer Genomics or related field
• Formal training in mathematical, statistical, and machine-learning-based analysis of complex data sets, such as hypothesis testing, supervised/unsupervised learning, linear models, etc.
• Strong programming skills, preferably in Python and/or R
• Experience with single-cell and/or spatial transcriptomics data analysis (including cell type annotation, differential abundance/accessibility/expression testing, spatial analysis, and trajectory inference)
• Proven ability to bridge bioinformatics and experimental work to solve complex problems, ideally within liver health or cancer
• Demonstrated ability to clearly and effectively communicate complex computational findings to both technical and non-technical audiences through compelling visualizations
• Demonstrated ability to rigorously document all analyses, code and workflows, including the usage of GitHub and Jupyter/R notebooks
• Independent, highly motivated, and highly collaborative with the ability to work together with multi-disciplinary teams of computational and laboratory biologists
• Passionate about discovery and working in a scientific environment
• Collaborative mindset and enthusiasm for bridging computation with functional biology
• Quick learner, curious and taking initiative to generate biological testable hypothesis and see your ideas implemented
• Able to perform at a high level in a fast changing and demanding environment
• Required Languages: Strong spoken and written competency in English

Languages ENGLISH Level Excellent

Additional Information

• Competitive remuneration package commensurate with skills, qualifications and experience.
• Full immersion into a research excellence ecosystem with highly motivated researchers, supported by state-of-the-state technology and continuous development opportunities.
• Initial duration: 12 months, renewable for additional periods

Eligibility criteria

• Ph.D. in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Cancer Genomics or related field
• Formal training in mathematical, statistical, and machine-learning-based analysis of complex data sets, such as hypothesis testing, supervised/unsupervised learning, linear models, etc.
• Strong programming skills, preferably in Python and/or R
• Experience with single-cell and/or spatial transcriptomics data analysis (including cell type annotation, differential abundance/accessibility/expression testing, spatial analysis, and trajectory inference)
• Proven ability to bridge bioinformatics and experimental work to solve complex problems, ideally within liver health or cancer
• Demonstrated ability to clearly and effectively communicate complex computational findings to both technical and non-technical audiences through compelling visualizations
• Demonstrated ability to rigorously document all analyses, code and workflows, including the usage of GitHub and Jupyter/R notebooks
• Independent, highly motivated, and highly collaborative with the ability to work together with multi-disciplinary teams of computational and laboratory biologists

Relevant Institutional Information

In line with our community guidelines and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy and Gender Equality Plan, no candidate may be privileged, favored, prejudiced or deprived of any right or excluded from any duty on the basis of age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, disability, chronic illness, language, nationality, territory of origin, family status (marital, pregnancy and maternity, having or not having dependents), socioeconomic situation, education, religion, political or ideological beliefs, trade union membership, or on any other grounds which are irrelevant to decision-making.

Legal Notices

The present call has the sole purpose of filling the indicated research position. This call may be canceled at any time on or before the jury’s evaluation of all eligible candidates and the recruitment process shall be concluded on the day of the full execution of the contract between the Champalimaud Foundation and the selected candidate.