Lead Scientist

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute seeks a Lead Scientist for its Center for Immuno-Oncology. This role includes managing computational biology projects, supervising a team, and collaborating on novel immunotherapy research. The ideal candidate has a PhD and extensive experience in computational oncology, along with strong leadership and communication skills.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of applied professional experience in computational oncology or immunology.
• Publication record in immuno-oncology and/or cancer genomics.
• Management responsibility, preferably 5+ years.

Responsibilities

• Manage projects and people for computational needs.
• Assist in the collection and analysis of biological data.
• Supervise research done by the Computational Biology Group team.

Skills

Computational skills

Statistical skills

Verbal communication

Written communication

Education

PhD in computational biology, bioinformatics, cancer genomics, or related fields

Job description

The DFCI Center for Immuno-Oncology (CIO) is a multi-disciplinary group dedicated to discovery, development, and supporting the analysis of first-in-human clinical trials of novel immunotherapies. As a Lead Scientist, you will manage projects and people to meet the computational and bioinformatics needs of the CIO. This role will co-lead the CIO Computational Biology Group and actively participate in research and collaborations with scientists affiliated with the CIO. The CIO uses cutting-edge technologies such as high-throughput RNA and DNA sequencing, mass cytometry (CyTOF), spectral flow cytometry, and highly-multiplex immunofluorescence imaging (Lunaphore COMET).

The role will assist faculty and research staff in the collection, management, analysis and interpretation of biological data, with a focus on the analysis of multi-omic immunological data including spatial data. You will be responsible for identifying and deploying appropriate methods for quality control, analysis and interpretation of data and experiments. This position is focused on enabling the timely analysis of data arising from immuno-oncology assays, integrating clinical data, and ensuring rapid accurate computational analysis for co-author publications. The Lead Scientist will work onsite in close partnership with CIO Director, Dr. F. Stephen Hodi MD, Data Science faculty mentor Robert Gentleman PhD, and collaborators.

Located in Boston and the surrounding communities, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a leader in life changing breakthroughs in cancer research and patient care. We are united in our mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS and related diseases. We strive to create an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment where we provide compassionate and comprehensive care to patients of all backgrounds, and design programs to promote public health particularly among high-risk and underserved populations. We conduct groundbreaking research that advances treatment, we educate tomorrow's physician/researchers, and we work with amazing partners, including other Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals.

• The Lead Scientist will be affiliated with the Department of Data Sciences (DS) and the Center for Immuno-Oncology (CIO). As Co-lead of the Computational Biology Group, the Lead Scientist will regularly interact with faculty and staff from both departments to discuss and develop a roadmap of future computational needs for immuno-oncology.
• Supervise and review research done by Computational Biology Group team members.
• Identify new methods and technologies, assess their accuracy and applicability
• Create and maintain bioinformatics pipelines for processing/analyzing data.
• Support end-users needs in analysis, visualization, database searching and integration
• Interpret and visualize complex biological data
• Lead and coordinate multiple collaborative projects involving faculty, researchers, clinicians, bioinformaticians, and biostatisticians, providing both strategic oversight and hands-on scientific contributions. Responsibilities include managing timelines, aligning goals, and proactively addressing critical challenges to ensure project success.
• Communicate new findings in a translational research environment strongly focused on discovery and development of novel immunotherapies to improve patient care.
• Contribute to co-author publications and grant submissions

• PhD in computational biology, bioinformatics, cancer genomics, or related fields.
• 12+ years applied professional experience in computational oncology, immunology, or life sciences. Professional experience may include academia and/or industry research experience.
• Publication record in immuno-oncology, computational oncology, and/or cancer genomics.
• Management/supervisory responsibility, preferably 5+ years.
• Excellent verbal/written communication skills and willingness to collaborate cross-departmentally.
• Strong computational and statistical skills

Additional Skills (optional):

• Experience containerizing and using containerized software in Docker is preferred.
• Experience with a spatial-protein or spatial-transcript expression platform is a significant plus.
• Familiar with the design and execution of the analysis of single-cell and bulk RNA-seq, ATAC-seq
• Experiences with CyTOF, IHC, or mIF would be a significant plus.
• Record of academic publications or contributions to open-source software

Supervisory Responsibilities:Co-leads a team of 2-3 computational biologists.

At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, we work every day to create an innovative, caring, and inclusive environment where every patient, family, and staff member feels they belong. As relentless as we are in our mission to reduce the burden of cancer for all, we are equally committed to diversifying our faculty and staff. Cancer knows no boundaries and when it comes to hiring the most dedicated and diverse professionals, neither do we. If working in this kind of organization inspires you, we encourage you to apply.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is an equal opportunity employer and affirms the right of every qualified applicant to receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability, age, ancestry, military service, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law.

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