Postdoctoral Fellow in Bioinformatics

Postdoctoral Fellow in Bioinformatics

Our laboratory (http://zhenglab.info) is seeking candidates to fill multiple open bioinformatics postdoctoral fellow positions. Candidates have the academic freedom to lead one of the following projects

1. Single cell sequencing of childhood sarcomas. Our institute has in-house 10x genomics platform in the genome sequencing facility. Candidates are expected to work closely with collaborators on delineating intratumoral heterogeneity of Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and other childhood cancers. 
2. Developing new computational methods to predict drug responses for PDX models. In collaboration with Dr. Peter Houghton’s lab and the Pediatric Preclinical Testing Consortium, we have developed a large collection of childhood cancer PDX models, and these models have been tested for responses to more than 60 FDA approved or preclinical compounds. Our goal is to identify genetic, epigenetic and proteomic markers that can predict these tumors’ drug sensitivity. 
3. Telomeres, telomerase, and genomic instability. We have a longstanding research interest in understanding the role of telomeres and telomerase in cancer, including their role in inducing genomic instability. Postdoctoral fellows are expected to work closely with our collaborator (Dr. Katsumi Kitagawa lab) and will use both high throughput assays and conventional cytogenetic approaches for their projects. 
4. Developing novel proteogenomic tools and methods to analyze cancer genomic and proteomic datasets. This position will work closely with Dr. Xiaojing Wang, who helped develop proteogenomics as a new discipline. Her software packages, including customprodb and probamsuite, are downloaded more than a thousand times monthly on average. 

Our laboratory has extensive experience in cancer genomics and proteomics. For more information about our research, please see our recent publications (Barthel et al. Nat Genet, 2017 PMID: 28135248; Hu et al. NAR, 2018. PMID: 29099951; Zheng et al. Cancer Cell, 2016 PMID: 27165744; Menschaert, Wang et al. Genome Bio, 2018 PMID: 29386051; Wang et al. MCP, 2018 PMID: 29222161). More information about our lab can be found at http://zhenglab.info.

Responsibilities

Successful candidates are expected to lead independent research projects and have regular discussions with the PI. Major responsibilities include collecting background of the research project, implementing and extending current methods, reporting project progress in conferences and lab meetings, and writing manuscripts. 

Qualifications

Candidates for both positions must have a PhD, or are expecting a PhD degree by the time of applying. Candidates must master proficient use of at least one programing language (e.g. R, Python, Java, Perl) and Linux working environment. Experience working with TCGA, ICGC, COSMIC, 1000 Genomes, ENCODE, GTEx, or ExAC, or other large-scale sequencing data analysis is highly preferred. Some basic understanding of cancer biology is a plus but not required. One first author publication in peer-reviewed journals is a minimum requirement for consideration. 

Contact 

Interested candidates should send a cover letter describing past research experience/skills and future research interests/plans, a curriculum vitae and the contact information of three references to Dr. Siyuan Zheng (zhengs3@uthscsa.edu). 

Application Review

Consideration of applications will begin immediately and continue until the positions are filled. 

Salary & Benefits 

Salary is competitive (higher than NIH standard), and is commensurate with experience. Information about the comprehensive benefits package can be found at http://uthscsa.edu/hr/benefits.asp.

UT Health San Antonio is one component of the 14 institutions comprising The University of Texas System and is the largest university health science center in South Texas.  Formerly known as the Cancer Therapy & Research Center, the UT Health Cancer Center is one of only four National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers in Texas.  The Greehey CCRI is dedicated to developing more effective and less toxic therapies for children afflicted by cancer.

Situated at the edge of the Texas Hill Country, San Antonio is the nation’s seventh largest city and offers a rich, multi-cultural community with a thriving bioscience industry.

All Postdoctoral appointments are designated as security sensitive positions.  The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer including protected veterans and persons with disabilities.