Faculty Position - Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, Data Science

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Inc.; Memphis (TN); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital invites applications for an innovative data scientist to join our Epidemiology and Cancer Control Department as a Faculty Member at the FULL, ASSOCIATE, or ASSISTANT level.

The role focuses on state-of-the-art computational methods to extract insights from multimodal health data and build predictive models to improve survivorship care. The candidate will work on diverse data streams, including wearable sensor data, imaging, multi-omics, clinical assessments,

Qualifications

• Must hold a PhD or equivalent in data science or related field.
• At least three years of relevant postgraduate experience and a proven track record of productivity.
• Experience with high-dimensional, multimodal data and clinical/biological data is preferred.

Skills

Advanced ML

NLP & LLMs

Foundation models

Self-supervised learning

Data pipelines

Causal inference

Precision medicine

Feature engineering

Education

PhD in data science or related field

Tools

Python

TensorFlow

PyTorch

R

Job description

SJCRH The Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is recruiting an innovative data scientist to join our multidisciplinary team advancing research in childhood cancer survivorship as a Faculty Member at the FULL, ASSOCIATE, or ASSISTANT level. We are looking for a scholar to apply state-of-the-art computational methods to extract insights from high-dimensional, multimodal health data and develop predictive and integrative models that transform survivorship care. Our Department’s mission is to conduct cutting-edge clinical, biological, and population-health research, and translate findings into effective strategies to avert or mitigate cancer-treatment-related complications and improve the quality of life of childhood cancer survivors. We are seeking a creative and collaborative data scientist to lead a vibrant research program at the intersection of data science and clinical/biological sciences.

Our research leverages diverse and complex data streams, including:

• Time-series and cross-sectional sensor data from wearable devices
• Image and video-based phenotyping for functional assessments
• Multi-omics (whole genome/whole exome sequencing, RNA-seq, methylation, proteomics/metabolomics, CHIP) and biomarker profiles from biological samples
• Physiological signals such as EKG
• Longitudinal clinical, functional, and behavioral assessments
• Usability evaluation
• Geographical and spatiotemporal data on environmental and socioeconomic context

Ideal expertise/experience includes:

• Advanced machine learning (deep learning, representation learning, probabilistic modeling)
• Natural language processing and large language models for extracting, structuring, and modeling high-dimensional, unstructured clinical notes, patient‑reported narratives, and speech‑derived phenotypes
• AI-driven approaches for multimodal data integration and predictive analytics
• Computational pipelines for large‑scale biomedical datasets
• Interest in causal inference, risk stratification, and precision medicine
• Experience in transforming complex clinical/biological data into meaningful representations (including advanced feature engineering)
• Experience applying pretrained foundation models or self‑supervised learning approaches to biomedical data
• AI agents for orchestrating multi‑stream data integration, real‑time analytics, and decision‑support workflows in survivorship research

Our department is home to both the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study with over 38,000 childhood cancer survivors diagnosed from 1970-1999 in North America, and the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort with over 6,000 clinically assessed childhood cancer survivors treated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital since 1962. These foundational studies are funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and are unparalleled resources for research, with comprehensive characterizations of cancer treatment exposures/doses. Our department encompasses a strong T32 Postdoctoral program, >130 staff members who supports maintaining and expanding activities of the two cohort studies and many ongoing R01- equivalent projects which are built on the two cohort studies.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a world-class research institution dedicated to pediatric cancer and other catastrophic diseases of childhood. We are the first and only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children and have been recognized with the highest possible ranking of “exceptional” in our two most recent five-year reviews by the NCI. Our mission is to advance research and cures for pediatric cancer, the number one cause of death by disease for U.S. children past infancy.

St. Jude is a highly interactive environment offering its faculty a remarkable opportunity to perform cutting-edge independent and collaborative research while receiving long-term institutional support past start-up to facilitate innovation and discovery. We value different perspectives and intellectual discourse. We are committed to building an intellectually diverse community. St. Jude is consistently ranked on Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Places to Work For” and is No. 9 on the 2018 Glassdoor “Best Place to Work” list for companies with 1,000 or more employees.

St. Jude is located in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee, a vibrant and friendly city at the historic American crossroads of music, trade, food, and culture. Mild winters and beautiful green outdoor spaces are part of the reasons why Forbes recently named Memphis the 4th happiest city in which to work. Cost of living and high quality of life are other attractions; in fact, Money magazine listed Memphis as one of the least expensive cities in which to raise a child. St. Jude facilities and salaries are highly competitive, and a generous start-up and benefit packages are included. Learn more about us at www.stjude.org.

Successful applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent degree in the field of data science, have at least three years of relevant postgraduate experience, and have a proven track record of productivity.

More information: Gregory T. Armstrong, MD, MSCE Chair, Epidemiology and Cancer Control St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 262 Danny Thomas Place, MS 735 Memphis, Tennessee, 38105 [e-mail]

St. Jude is an Equal Opportunity Employer No Search Firms St. Jude Children's Research Hospital does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. Please do not call or email. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee or other representative at St. Jude via email, the internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written search agreement in place and approved by HR will result in no fee being paid in the event the candidate is hired by St. Jude.