Postdoctoral Scholar - Pediatric Oncology Translational Research Lab

The Pennsylvania State University; Hershey (PA); On-site; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive benefits package

Job summary

The Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium at Penn State College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, in Hershey, PA, seeks a postdoctoral scholar for the Pediatric Oncology Translational Research Lab (POTRL). This full-time on-site role centers on preclinical and translational cancer research in pediatrics.

Independent experimentation, data integrity, and collaboration with clinical and computational teams are essential.

Responsibilities

• Design, execute, and troubleshoot experiments with minimal faculty oversight.
• Formulate original hypotheses grounded in the current pediatric oncology literature and develop testable experimental frameworks.
• Maintain rigorous, reproducible laboratory records and uphold data integrity standards across all projects.
• Manage personal project timelines and deliverables, proactively communicating progress and roadblocks to the lead researcher and PI.
• Generate publication-ready datasets and lead the writing, revision, and submission of first-author manuscripts to high-impact journals.
• Critically interpret complex, preclinical, or clinical translational datasets and communicate findings to diverse audiences.
• Present research at national and international conferences; contribute to preparation of abstracts and poster materials.
• Serve as a peer reviewer for relevant scientific journals when invited.
• Identify, evaluate, and implement cutting-edge methodologies (e.g., single-cell sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, CRISPR screens, PDX/organoid models) relevant to pediatric cancer biology.
• Establish and validate new protocols, optimizing them for the lab's specific research questions and infrastructure.
• Document new methods thoroughly and train lab personnel on their implementation.
• Actively participate in lab meetings, journal clubs, and departmental seminars; contribute constructive scientific feedback to peers.
• Foster productive relationships with clinical collaborators, research technicians, bioinformaticians, biostatisticians, and translational teams within and outside the institution.
• Collaborate across multi-PI consortium projects, coordinating experimental contributions and adhering to shared timelines.
• Co-author multi-investigator publications and contribute equitably to collaborative grant applications.
• Directly mentor rotation students and graduate students in experimental techniques, scientific reasoning, and professional conduct.
• Provide regular, constructive feedback on mentees' data, presentations, and written work.
• Assist in development of laboratory training materials, SOPs, and onboarding resources.
• Model a culture of rigor, intellectual curiosity, and psychological safety within the team.
• Ensure compliance with institutional biosafety, IACUC, and IRB protocols; complete all required training on time.
• Contribute substantially to the writing and revision of grant applications (R01, K99/R00, foundation awards) as a co-investigator or named personnel.
• Identify and independently apply for independent fellowships and career development awards to support the transition to faculty.
• This is a limited-term position funded for one year from date of hire, with possibility of refunding.
• The following clearances must be successfully completed for this position: Criminal Background Check.
• Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being.

Job description

Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, seeNotice to Out of State Applicants.

POSITION SPECIFICS

The Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium at Penn State College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, in Hershey, PA, is seeking an innovative and highly driven Postdoctoral Scholar for the Pediatric Oncology Translational Research Lab (POTRL). This is a full-time on-site position.

The Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium (BCC) is an international clinical research sponsor and acts as a Contract Research Organization (CRO) of a network of 50+ hospitals that participate in BCC's investigator-initiated clinical trials. The Pediatric Oncology Translational Research Lab is the preclinical research team of BCC. This advanced-level postdoctoral position aims at developing cutting-edge research on pediatric oncology with focus on pre-clinical and translational aspects of cancer.

Job Summary

Independent research

• Design, execute, and troubleshoot experiments with minimal faculty oversight, applying expert-level judgment to resolve technical challenges.
• Formulate original hypotheses grounded in the current pediatric oncology literature and develop testable experimental frameworks.
• Maintain rigorous, reproducible laboratory records and uphold data integrity standards across all projects.
• Manage personal project timelines and deliverables, proactively communicating progress and roadblocks to the lead researcher and PI.

High-impact scholarship

• Generate publication-ready datasets and lead the writing, revision, and submission of first-author manuscripts to high-impact journals.
• Critically interpret complex, preclinical, or clinical translational datasets and communicate findings to diverse audiences.
• Present research at national and international conferences; contribute to preparation of abstracts and poster materials.
• Serve as a peer reviewer for relevant scientific journals when invited.

Technology development

• Identify, evaluate, and implement cutting-edge methodologies (e.g., single-cell sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, CRISPR screens, PDX/organoid models) relevant to pediatric cancer biology.
• Establish and validate new protocols, optimizing them for the lab's specific research questions and infrastructure.
• Document new methods thoroughly and train lab personnel on their implementation.

Team collaboration

• Actively participate in lab meetings, journal clubs, and departmental seminars; contribute constructive scientific feedback to peers.
• Foster productive relationships with clinical collaborators, research technicians, bioinformaticians, biostatisticians, and translational teams within and outside the institution.
• Collaborate across multi-PI consortium projects, coordinating experimental contributions and adhering to shared timelines.
• Co-author multi-investigator publications and contribute equitably to collaborative grant applications.

Mentorship & training

• Directly mentor rotation students and graduate students in experimental techniques, scientific reasoning, and professional conduct.
• Provide regular, constructive feedback on mentees' data, presentations, and written work.
• Assist in development of laboratory training materials, SOPs, and onboarding resources.
• Model a culture of rigor, intellectual curiosity, and psychological safety within the team.

Lab stewardship & funding

• Ensure compliance with institutional biosafety, IACUC, and IRB protocols; complete all required training on time.
• Contribute substantially to the writing and revision of grant applications (R01, K99/R00, foundation awards) as a co-investigator or named personnel.
• Identify and independently apply for independent fellowships and career development awards to support the transition to faculty.

This is a limited-term position funded for one year from date of hire, withpossibility of refunding.

The following clearances must be successfully completed for this position:Criminal Background Check

BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES

BENEFITS

Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being.

For more detailed information, please visit ourBenefits Page. (Note: For Postdoctoral benefits, please see our Postdoctoral Benefits page.)

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Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here.

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