Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research (CEDAR) center is a collaborative institution within the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. The Knight Cancer Institute, known as one of the pioneers in personalized cancer medicine, is an international leader in research and cancer treatment. At CEDAR our mission is to detect and stop lethal cancers at the earliest stage because early detection saves lives. This is an ambitious goal, one that requires novelty, creativity, and innovation. We are composed of biologists, chemists, biomedical engineers, computational biologists, and clinicians conducting groundbreaking translational cancer research to help people maintain a high quality of life and reduce cancer mortality, to create a global early detection community, and to have a positive impact on the Oregon economy.

 

CEDAR is committed to increasing the diversity of the campus community. We at CEDAR are dedicated to promoting inclusion and multiculturalism to build a successful organization by having outstanding researchers of diverse backgrounds work together on multiple projects. We encourage high-risk, high-reward research projects because defeating cancer requires unproven, out-of-the-box thinking. Our research is milestone driven to ensure that each project is fulfilling its stated goals.

 

The OHSU Fellowship for Diversity in Research seeks to address the need for increased representation of minoritized races/ethnicities in STEM at the postdoctoral level. Eligible candidates are encouraged to apply. Visit www.ohsu.edu/ofdir for more information.

 

Every Knight Cancer employee is expected to embody our guiding principles:

• We act BOLDLY—Breakthroughs require pushing the boundaries of science, exploring new frontiers, and thinking differently
• We SUPPORT each other—Respect leads to trust, which leads to excellence
• We work as a CONNECTED team—We must leverage our collective brain power to conquer cancer because no one individual can do it alone

CEDAR funds its own research projects, expediting the process of discovery. Our research is milestone-driven to ensure that each project is fulfilling its stated goals. CEDAR offers a unique opportunity for outstanding, driven, and creative postdoctoral fellows to perform cutting edge and high-risk research, ranging from understanding basic cancer biology to developing novel technologies to aid detection. Our focus on early detection requires novel approaches to reliably identify small/rare signals in diverse data types, with an emphasis on minimally invasive sampling techniques.

 

We are currently hiring for a highly motivated fellow with expertise in Computational Biology to work in the following areas. Candidate would primarily work with Dr. Ece Eksi, Assistant Professor in the Division of Oncological Sciences with affiliations in the Biomedical Engineering and Cell, Development and Cancer Biology departments.

• Image computing – Performing analysis of existing imaging data sets of prostate tumor samples using established pipelines and developing novel machine learning approaches. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to analyze single-cell, multiplex imaging data sets and develop image computing pipelines to aid clinical decision-making processes in cancer diagnostics. 
• Machine Learning/Statistics – Developing machine learning methods and spatial statistical models to study the organization of the cell types in the tumor microenvironment using cutting-edge spatial imaging datasets.  Developed algorithms will be used to build predictive temporal models for patient stratification. Techniques such as spatial auto-correlation, dimensionality reduction and clustering will be utilized.  
• Single-cell transcriptomics and epigenomics - Modeling and analyzing next-generation sequencing datasets that measure the transcriptome and the epigenome, specifically single-cell RNA-seq and ATAC-seq. The successful candidate will use both existing tools and develop their own computational methods to analyze such datasets for the characterization of prostate and pancreatic tumors.

Select references:

• https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27615-8
• https://www.eu-focus.europeanurology.com/article/S2405-4569(23)00077-9/fulltext
• https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.18.553854v1

Education & experience:

• D., M.D./Ph.D., or Ph.D.
• Minimum of 3 years as a graduate student

Knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Excellent communication, analytical and organizational skills
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team while being collaborative in resolving problems
• Passion for science and inquiry
• Ability to synthesize one’s own results and others to formulate hypotheses
• Energy and drive to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously

• PhD with major coursework in the one of the following areas: computational biology, statistics, computer science or machine learning
• Programming experience with Python
• Background in one and more of following topics: image computing, deep learning, dimensionality reduction
• Experience in developing computational approaches for modeling imaging data
• Ability to clearly communicate and collaborate with researchers from diverse backgrounds, including wet-lab scientists

Apply online. Please be sure to upload a Cover Letter and Resume/CV.

 

We offer a variety of benefits on top of joining a thriving organization:

• Medical, dental and vision coverage at no or low cost to employees
  • Covered 100% for full-time employees and 88% for dependents
• Several retirement plans to choose from with contributions from OHSU
• 80 hours of vacation time per year
• 96 hours of sick leave a year (prorated for part-time employees)
• Commuter subsidies
• Tuition reimbursement
• Access to group life insurance, disability insurance and other supplemental benefits
• Annual Raises
• Growth/Development Opportunities
• Employee discounts to local and major businesses 

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Oregon Health & Science University values a diverse and culturally competent workforce. We are proud of our commitment to being an equal opportunity, affirmative action organization that does not discriminate against applicants on the basis of any protected class status, including disability status and protected veteran status. Individuals with diverse backgrounds and those who promote diversity and a culture of inclusion are encouraged to apply. To request reasonable accommodation contact the Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Department at 503-494-5148 or aaeo@ohsu.edu.