The newly established research group “Integrative Analysis of Pediatric Cancer” headed by Florian Halbritter, science.ccri.at/research/research-areas/integrative-analysis/integrative-analysis/ at the Children’s Cancer Research Institute (CCRI) is looking for a doctoral candidate / PhD student to join our quest to take apart childhood cancer.
We are looking for highly motivated and self-driven individuals who are keen to become scientific contributors to the fight against cancer. You will have experience with computer programming, data analysis, and statistics from your university degree and/or prior work, and you will have a natural aptitude for problem solving. We place highest value on ingenuity and creativity, so we will also consider candidates from other backgrounds if they present new approaches and perspectives. We will guide you on your path to become an independent researcher and show you how to best employ your skills to translate molecular data into meaningful insights that help to advance clinical practice. You will work in close collaboration with molecular biologists, geneticists, oncologists, and bioinformaticians locally and internationally, so good interpersonal skills and a willingness to apply them are essential.
You will:
• Learn to take on ambitious research in close collaboration with experimental and clinical researchers. You will contribute from the start including planning of experiments and data acquisition. You will provide thorough and creative analysis that makes these projects a success
• Get to know data from state-of-the-art technologies, including but not limited to high-throughput sequencing. You will see technologies as tools to acquire new knowledge
• Become familiar with the literature, latest software tools and community resources to keep abreast developments and to identify data and methods to integrate in your own work
• Write papers, visit conferences, present your research, review papers, apply for fellowships, and contribute to grants
Projects:
We aim to investigate the molecular framework underlying different types of cancer to find new markers for improved diagnostics and targets for therapy. You will learn how to shape these and other projects and to make them your own. Current projects include:
• Dissecting intratumor heterogeneity with single-cell transcriptomics and multi-scale epigenomics
• Utilizing epigenomic readouts of liquid biopsies to monitor treatment response in solid tumors
• Identifying molecular predictors of relapse in childhood leukemia based on DNA methylation
• In-vitro and computational modeling of developmental diseases
• Development of user-friendly tools for visual analysis and interpretation of epigenomes
The institution:
The CCRI is situated in the center of Vienna, one of Europe’s most important places for medical research and life sciences and cited as the most livable city in the world. As a vibrant, international environment, it hosts about 100 researchers working on pediatric leukemia, solid tumors, immunology, and stem cell transplantation. Tightly associated with St. Anna Children´s Hospital, the biggest center for pediatric hematology and oncology in Austria and one of the leading treatment centers for children with cancer in Europe, the CCRI performs basic, translational, and clinical research. Genomics and epigenomics of pediatric cancers are areas of strategic development on its way to precision medicine.
science.ccri.at
www.kinderkrebsforschung.at
• University degree in bioinformatics, computer science, statistics, cognitive science, machine learning, biology or any other discipline proving a sound computational and analytical foundation
• Programming and/or scripting skills in one or more languages, e.g. Python, R, Java, C(++|#), JavaScript, …
• Sound logic and structured thinking; you should be able to define problems in detail, think about ways to solve them, and be able to evaluate the results
• Pragmatic understanding of statistics, good numeric skills, and sound logic
• Good verbal and written communication / presentation skills (in English, German not required)
• At least a basic understanding of relevant biology (DNA/RNA/proteins, epigenetics, organismal development, mutations, cancer)
• An exceptional level of enthusiasm, creativity, determination and perseverance
Successful applicants will be offered a salary according to the Austrian Science Fund FWF; www.fwf.ac.at/en/research-funding/personnel-costs/ and a contract for up to three years with a possibility of extension. Applications should include a motivation letter, curriculum vitae and contact details of three references. Feel free to include any other information, links, publications or materials that you believe are relevant to your application.
Please send your application only per e-mail: hr(at)ccri.at to Florian Halbritter. The position shall be staffed as soon as possible, there is currently no fixed closing date for incoming applications.