Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pathology & Lab Medicine

VS-Postdoc; Tucson (AZ); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Arizona seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Pathology & Lab Medicine to join an established molecular, neuropathology, and cancer research group in Tucson. The role emphasizes translational tissue-based biomarkers, cross-disease integration, and access to shared resources and mentorship for grant development.

Candidates will work on tissue biobanking, digital pathology, and biomarker discovery within a collaborative environment spanning oral, neurodegenerative, and

Qualifications

• Doctoral degree in a biomedical field (oral & maxillofacial pathology, anatomic pathology, molecular biology, cancer biology) or related discipline.
• Record of publications and research funding commensurate with career stage.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to translational tissue-based research at the interface of oral/head and neck cancer pathology and neurodegenerative-disease neuropathology.
• Develop integrative dental-neuropathology projects and cross-disease biomarker discovery pipelines.
• Maintain a record of impactful publications spanning oral/head and neck cancer pathology and neurodegenerative-disease neuropathology.
• Contribute to mentored grant development and collaborative research initiatives including manuscript preparation.

Skills

Molecular pathology

Biobanking

Digital pathology

Translational research

Grant development

Education

MD/DO/PhD in biomedical field

Tools

Immunohistochemistry

Whole-slide imaging

Tissue microarray

Genomic/transcriptomic analysis

Job description

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pathology & Lab Medicine

2026-09-20

Postdoctoral Research Associate,

Pathology & Lab Medicine

The University of Arizona

in Tucson, AZ

Type: Full-Time

Posted: Today

Category: Medical Research

Posting Number: req26837

Department: Pathology and Lab Medicine

Location: Tucson Campus

Address: 1501 N. Campbell Ave. , Tucson, AZ 85719 USA

Position Highlights

The University of Arizona College of Medicine's (Tucson) Department ofPathology & Laboratory Medicine invites applications for a postdoctoraltissue-based investigator to join our outstanding biomedical research team. Ourdepartment is a research-intensive department at the University of ArizonaCollege of Medicine - Tucson, with strengths in molecular pathology, tumorbiology, digital pathology, HIV-related tumors, biobanking, translationaldiagnostics, and neurodegenerative disease neuropathology, including anestablished brain bank and tissue-resource infrastructure. A partnership withBanner - University Medical Center Tucson and access to the UA Cancer Center'sshared resources in genomics, tissue acquisition, biostatistics, molecularimaging, and digital pathology provide additional research opportunities.

This integrative research role is designed to bridge oral & head and neckpathology, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer pathology, as well asbiobanking of primary samples. The successful candidate will conducttranslational research focused on tissue-based molecular biomarkers, diseaseprogression, and cross-disease applications that integrate oral pathology withneurodegenerative disease and cancer research.

The successful candidate will be embedded within an established molecular,neuropathology, and cancer research group and will benefit from immediate accessto mentored grant development, tissue and biospecimen resources, and existingcollaborative infrastructure spanning both oral and neurodegenerative diseasetissue banking.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, vision, and lifeinsurance; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UA/ASU/NAU tuition reductionfor the employee and qualified family members; access to UA recreation andcultural activities; and more!

Duties & Responsibilities

Contribute to highly impactful, extramurally funded research programs at theinterface of oral / head and neck cancer pathology and neurodegenerative-diseaseneuropathology. Contribute to the tissue-resource infrastructure, digitalpathology operations, image-analysis workflows, cross-cohort tissue metadata,and translational biomarker projects that integrate oral/head and neck pathologyexpertise with neurodegenerative-disease neuropathology.

Develop integrative dental-neuropathology projects - for example, oral-brainaxis biology, periodontal-disease contributions to Alzheimer's disease andrelated dementias, systemic-inflammation biomarkers shared across oral and CNStissue, and cross-tissue application of digital and computational pathologymethodology.

Contribute expertise in biobanking of primary tumor tissues, tissue bankoperations including distribution of tissues, tissue-based molecular pathologyto institutional shared resources, and cross-disease biomarker discoverypipelines.

Maintain a record of impactful research publications spanning oral/head andneck cancer pathology and, over time, integrative dental-neuropathologywork.

Contribute to "team science" based interdisciplinary research grants andprojects, including center-scale mechanisms (P30, U54, SPORE, UM1), theUniversity's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center environment, and through theDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

Conduct independent and collaborative research focused on tissue-basedmolecular biomarkers of disease progression in oral cavity, head and neck,neurodegenerative disease, and cancer specimens.

Develop research programs exploring oral-brain axis biology, systemicinflammation, periodontal disease and Alzheimers disease and related dementias(ADRD), HIV-related cancers, and other cross-disease translational researchareas.

Apply tissue-based molecular methodologies across oral and central nervoussystem specimens.

Utilize digital pathology, computational pathology, genomic, andtranscriptomic approaches to analyze tissue cohorts for translational biomarkerdiscovery projects.

Contribute to tissue biobanking and biospecimen resource development,including tissue banking infrastructure and metadata management.

Collaborate with multidisciplinary investigators across pathology,neuroscience, cancer biology, and related fields.

Pursue mentored grant development and contribute to collaborative researchinitiatives including manuscript preparation and publications.

Minimum Qualifications

DDS, DMD, MD, PhD, or equivalent doctoral degree in a biomedical field (oral& maxillofacial pathology, anatomic pathology, molecular biology, cancerbiology), or a related discipline.

Have a record of publications and research funding, commensurate with careerstage.

Preferred Qualifications

Research program on oral squamous cell carcinoma, head and neck squamous cellcarcinoma, salivary gland tumors, odontogenic tumors, or oral premalignantdisease, with a molecular-marker or tumor-microenvironment focus (e.g.,ADAM10/EGFR signaling, stromal myofibroblasts, syndecan/proteoglycan biology,TGF-B/Smad signaling, HPV-associated HNSCC, or podoplanin/lymphangiogenicmarkers).

Interest and willingness to develop an integrative dental-neuropathologyresearch program, extending oral-pathology methodology into oral-brain axisbiology, periodontal-disease contributions to Alzheimer's disease and relateddementias (ADRD), or shared tissue-based biomarker platforms across oral and CNStissue.

Established portfolio in tissue biobanking and tissue-based molecularpathology - immunohistochemistry, whole-slide imaging, tissue-microarray design,digital and computational pathology, or spatial molecular profiling - withapplicability across multiple tissue types.

Experience in tissue-based molecular biomarkers of disease progression,tumor- or lesion-stromal interactions, and translational discovery pipelinesthat connect diagnostic pathology to novel therapeutic and preventive strategiesand that have focused on biobanking of primary tissues.

Complementary collaborative experience in translationaltherapeutic-development approaches, such as photodynamic or sonodynamic therapy,nanoparticle- or liposome-based targeted delivery, drug-repurposing approaches,or related methodology applicable to oral/head and neck cohorts.

Genomic, transcriptomic, or bioinformatic analysis of oral/head and necktumor cohorts, with methodology transferable to neurodegenerative-disease tissuecohorts.

Experience incorporating digital and computational pathology, genomic andtranscriptomic profiling of tissue cohorts, and neurodegenerative-diseasespecimens.

Experience in primary tissue biobanking, cancer tissue banking, andHIV-related cancer biology.

FLSA: Exempt

Full Time/Part Time: Full Time

Number of Hours Worked per Week: 40

Job FTE: 1.0

Work Calendar: Fiscal

Job Category: Research

Benefits Eligible: Yes - Full Benefits

Rate of Pay: NIH salary guidelines, Depends on Experience

Compensation Type: salary at 1.0 full-time equivalency (FTE)

Type of criminal background check required: Name-based criminal backgroundcheck (non-security sensitive)

Number of Vacancies: 4

Contact Information for Candidates

Department of Pathology

[e-mail]

Documents Needed to Apply: Curriculum Vitae (CV), Cover Letter, and OneAdditional Document

Special Instructions to Applicant

The online application should be completed in its entirety. Blank or missinginformation may be considered an incomplete submission.

Candidates with senior research-administration or editorial-leadershipexperience are encouraged to describe that experience explicitly in the coverletter, as it will be weighed in the evaluation for the appropriate PostdoctoralResearch Associate job level.

International applicants and applicants whose current funding portfolio isnon-US are welcome to apply. You should describe your planned pathway to USfederal funding (NIH, DoD, VA) within the cover letter.

A Curriculum Vitae (CV), cover letter, and 3 letters of reference (referencescombined & uploaded as one document) from professional references at yourcurrent rank or above, their contact information, and the nature of your workwith them.

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The University of Arizona is a committed Equal Opportunity/Affirmative ActionInstitution. Women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities areencouraged to apply.