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Research – Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI)

Research Positions Available

Several full-time postdoctoral positions are immediately available for MD and/or Ph.D graduates. Please state the name of the lab that you are applying to in the email subject.

Postdoctoral Fellow (Full-Time Bioinformatics Data Scientist) - Dr Chew Guo-Liang's Lab

Biomedical research is exploding with data. The Chew Lab (https://www.csi.nus.edu.sg/web/chew-guo-liang/) at the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI) at the National University of Singapore seeks to make sense out of these data: to understand fundamental molecular mechanisms underlying human disease so that we may design better treatments.

For examples of the work we do, see:

Chew, Campbell et al. DUX4 suppresses MHC Class I to promote cancer immune evasion and resistance to checkpoint blockade. Dev Cell 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2019.06.011
Inoue, Chew et al. Spliceosomal disruption of the non-canonical BAF complex in cancer. Nature 2019. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1646-9

Our interests will evolve over time. We are currently focused in the interactions between cancer and the immune system, and how these interactions may be mediated by the aberrant expression of genes with endogenous roles in human development.

We are looking for a full-time bioinformatics data scientist to join us.

In this position, you will:

Integrate high-throughput data (e.g. proteomics, RNA-seq) from hundreds to thousands of patients
Derive experimentally-testable hypotheses, molecular insight from integrated analyses of high-throughput patient and experimental data
Communicate findings to clinical and experimental collaborators
Contribute to scientific discussions within the lab, at CSI and in the greater community
With guidance/coaching, develop yourself personally and professionally for a long term career in biomedical research

You would need:

A PhD in a relevant field (e.g. cancer biology, bioinformatics, molecular biology)
A track record of applying bioinformatics to biomedical research
Working proficiency in R, Python or similar programming languages (we primarily use R)
Working knowledge of statistics as applied in a biomedical research setting

It would be great if you had:

Prior experience in wet-lab molecular biology, especially with generating NGS data
Familiarity with tidy data, Bioconductor, version control, workflow management software, working on servers/clusters/cloud
A broad interest in many aspects of biology

If you are interested, please contact Dr. Chew at via email at guoliang@nus.edu.sg (with an email subject containing the words “CSI bioinformatics postdoctoral position”), and include a detailed CV and contact information of at least two referees (including that of your current / most recent position). Please also provide a description of your research interests, including how your own experience would augment/complement our ongoing work. We will only contact candidates who are shortlisted.

Research Assistant (animal work) - Dr. Takaomi Sanda’s lab

A full time Research Assistant position will be available after March 2020.

Requirements:

University degree (biology, biomedical science, biotechnology or related area).
Ability to speak and write well in English.
Prior experience working with mouse or/and zebrafish model.
Knowledge of: 1) basic principles and practices in the fields of biology, 2) principles, techniques and terminology used in biology, 3) principles, techniques and terminology used in animal studies.
Appropriate computer operations, software and peripherals, including Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

Job scope:
a) Animal management and laboratory tasks: 50%

to maintain animal colonies including breeding and genotyping.
to create transgenic and knockout animal models, and perform xenograft studies.
to isolate tissues from the animal and analyze by flowcytometry.
to harvest cells, protein, RNA or DNA from animal tissues, cell lines or bacteria.
to perform experiments including PCR, immunoprecipitation and Western blot.

b) Administrative tasks: 30%

to maintain a systematic and proper record of animals, including annual reports.
to liaise with the core facilities, committees and the administrative office to assist research.
to be responsible for purchasing necessary chemicals, reagents and equipment as required by the lab or project.
to liaise with the vendors to ensure proper purchase requisitions, goods delivery and prompt payment of supplies.

c) Laboratory safety: 20%

to serve as a safety lead in the laboratory.
to create and review standard operating procedures and risk assessments.
responsible for the general cleanliness of the lab and core facility
to assemble reagents, chemicals and media that are needed for experiments.

Applications should include full curriculum vitae and 2-3 reference letters. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Please send applications to:

Cancer Science Institute of Singapore
National University of Singapore Centre for Translational Medicine,
14 Medical Drive, #12-01,
Singapore 117599
Email: csi_recruitment@nus.edu.sg
Website: www.csi.nus.edu.sg

Senior Research Scientist - Prof Ashok Venkitaraman's Lab

Are you a biomedical researcher motivated to pursue an outstanding career in cancer research?

Cancer will affect more than 1 in 3 Singaporeans. At the Cancer Science Institute (CSI), our mission is to be at the global forefront of research to overcome this scourge. Our innovative international faculty, cutting-edge facilities, supportive working environment and competitive package together enable each of our staff to realize their maximum potential.

We now seek a Senior Research Scientist to join the team of our new Director-designate, Prof. Ashok Venkitaraman, who will be joining us from the University of Cambridge (see http://news.nus.edu.sg/press-releases/cancer-science-institute-director). This is an exciting opportunity to work closely with a world-leading cancer researcher to undertake pioneering research on the role of genome instability in human carcinogenesis (eg., see Venkitaraman Science (2014) PMID:24675954 and Venkitaraman DNA Repair (2019) PMID:31337537).

Essential qualifications:

PhD in a relevant field and three years’ relevant post-doctoral experience in a high-quality research environment
Strong track record of research achievement evidenced by high-quality publications in a relevant field
High-level experience in a wide range of relevant research methods including molecular and cell biology, somatic cell genetics, protein & nucleic acid biochemistry, advanced fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry
Proven skills in working independently and creatively to solve experimental problems
Effective communication and presentation skills, with experience in communicating scientific work including scientific papers, presentations and reports
Demonstrated skills in hands-on training of students or staff

Preference will be given to candidates with:

Previous experience in research on genome stability mechanisms in carcinogenesis
Knowledge of DNA repair, replication and mitosis in oncogenesis and tumour suppression
Previous experience with genetically engineered murine models

The successful candidate will take a leading role in pioneering research on the role of genome instability in human carcinogenesis by:

Undertaking research aimed at defining the role of genome instability in human cancer, with a focus on carcinogenesis associated with mutations affecting the BRCA2 tumour suppressor
Planning their own work and objectives on a 12-month basis and managing their experimental work within the project under the overall supervision of the PI
Working with relative independence to identify, develop, modify and apply techniques across a wide range of disciplines to achieve the goals of the project, using creativity and initiative to develop novel approaches and methods where required.
Presenting scientific work at seminars within the laboratory and at external meetings
Contributing to lab-wide discussions on developments within the field
Drafting scientific papers, and contributing to the overall preparation of research for publication
Contributing to the CSI’s mission in the public engagement of science, and the translation of research findings into improvements in health care
Assisting in the training of PhD students and staff
Contributing to the smooth running of the research group, including the effective use of resources, training of others and taking responsibility for use of communal facilities

More information on careers in NUS can be found at http://www.nus.edu.sg/careers/

Please submit applications including (1) a covering letter that explains why you are suited to this post, (2) a detailed CV, and (3) the contact details of 3 professional referees including your last position to:

Applications will be considered until 15 February 2020 or until the position is filled.
We will only contact candidates who are shortlisted.

Research Fellow - Prof Ashok Venkitaraman's Lab

Are you a biomedical researcher motivated to pursue an outstanding career in cancer research?

We now seek a Research Fellow to join the team of our new Director-designate, Prof. Ashok Venkitaraman, who will be joining us from the University of Cambridge (see http://news.nus.edu.sg/press-releases/cancer-science-institute-director). This is an exciting opportunity to work closely with a world-leading cancer researcher to undertake pioneering research on the role of genome instability in human carcinogenesis (eg., see Venkitaraman Science (2014) PMID:24675954 and Venkitaraman DNA Repair (2019) PMID:31337537).

Essential qualifications:

PhD in a relevant field undertaken in a high-quality research environment; previous postdoctoral experience is not necessary
Strong track record of research achievement in a relevant field
Hands-on experience in relevant research methods, with demonstrated skills in one or more fields including molecular and cell biology, somatic cell genetics, protein & nucleic acid biochemistry, advanced fluorescence microscopy or flow cytometry
Effective communication and presentation skills, with experience in communicating scientific work including scientific papers, presentations and reports

Preference will be given to candidates with:

Previous experience in research on genome stability mechanisms in carcinogenesis
Knowledge of DNA repair, replication and mitosis in oncogenesis and tumour suppression
Previous experience with genetically engineered murine models.

The successful candidate will play a key role in pioneering research on the role of genome instability in human carcinogenesis by:

Undertaking research aimed at defining the role of genome instability in human cancer, with a focus on carcinogenesis associated with mutations affecting the BRCA2 tumour suppressor
Planning their own work and objectives on a 3-month basis and managing their experimental work within the project under the overall supervision of the PI
Working with relative independence to identify, develop, modify and apply techniques across a wide range of disciplines to achieve the goals of the project, using creativity and initiative to develop novel approaches and methods where required.
Presenting scientific work at seminars within the laboratory and at external meetings
Contributing to lab-wide discussions on developments within the field
Drafting scientific papers, and contributing to the overall preparation of research for publication
Contributing to the CSI’s mission in the public engagement of science, and the translation of research findings into improvements in health care

More information on careers in NUS can be found at http://www.nus.edu.sg/careers/

Applications will be considered until 15 February 2020 or until the position is filled.
We will only contact candidates who are shortlisted.

Research Assistant – Prof Chng Wee Joo’s Lab

To provide support to the Principal Investigator and his team in terms of research, laboratory and administrative needs.

Duties and Responsibilities:

a) Research:

to carry out assigned experiments
to organise, preserve and present the results of the experiments in a logical manner
to properly and systematically record all experiments that have been assigned and their results
to analyse and plan further experiments under guidance
to assist in supervising, training and guiding attachment/undergraduate students where required

b) Laboratory:

to plan and ensure the needs and requirements of the team in terms of consumables
to ensure that the lab is adequately stocked with clean glassware, minor equipment, chemicals, etc. required for experiments
responsible for the cleanliness and maintenance of equipment through regular checks
required to assemble reagents, chemicals and media that are needed for experiments
to ensure that standard operating procedures and safety regulations are followed
responsible for the general cleanliness of the lab

c) Administrative duties:

to plan and ensure that the overall lab administrative needs of the team are met
to assist the Principal Investigator in tracking his/her grants and other sources of funding
responsible for purchasing necessary equipment, chemicals, reagents as required by the lab or project
maintain a systematic and proper record of all purchases
liaising between the vendors and the administrative office to ensure proper purchase requisitions, goods delivery and prompt payment of supplies

d) Any other duties as required

Requirements:

Background in genomics, molecular biology and flow cytometry is preferred.
Committed, hardworking and motivated candidates with BSc or diploma are welcome to apply

Knowledge of:

Basic principles and practices in the fields of biology, physiology and/or chemistry.
Quality assurance procedures applicable to a laboratory.
Principles, techniques and terminology used in the examination of clinical and animal samples.
Principles, techniques and terminology used in cancer biology.
Laboratory scientific resource material; laboratory equipment and its care.
Methods of scientific research and relevant scientific theories.
Government guidelines and regulations pertinent to laboratory safety and security.
Packaging and shipping of diagnostic, infectious and hazardous materials.
Appropriate computer operations, software and peripherals.
General rules for safe exposure and handling of chemical and biological hazards
IRB, OSHE & IACUC regulations

Ability to:

Perform laboratory tests

Applications should include full curriculum vitae and the names, addresses and contact numbers of 3 professional references. Please send applications to:

Research Assistant / Associate – RNA Biology in Cancer (Dr Yvonne Tay's lab)

A research assistant / associate position is available immediately in Dr Yvonne Tay’s lab for a highly motivated Honours’ / advanced degree holder with a background in molecular or cellular biology, biochemistry or other related fields who is interested in deciphering regulatory RNA networks in the context of cancer (reviewed in Tay et al, Nature 2014; also see Tay et al, Nature 2008 and Tay et al, Cell 2011). The successful candidate will design and conduct experiments, analyse data and write papers.

The Tay lab is in the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, a state-of-the-art research center with a multifaceted and coordinated approach to cancer research, extending from basic cancer studies all the way to experimental therapeutics. The focus of the institute is on cancers endemic to Asian populations such as gastric, liver, lung, leukemia and breast cancers. The institute houses a full spectrum of research and clinical translational facilities. This major center is led by a team of world-class scientists with significant government funding from Singapore’s National Research Foundation and Ministry of Education.

Qualifications:

A Bachelor’s degree in a life science-related field
Experience with in vivo animal models, particularly mice and/or zebrafish
Expertise in RNA biology (including but not limited to microRNAs) is preferred
Strong background and working knowledge of basic molecular and cellular biology techniques such as cell culture, cloning, real-time PCR and western blotting
Experience with analyses of human clinical samples, RNA sequencing, RNA immunoprecipitation, mass spectrometry and/or CRISPR genome editing is highly desirable
Ability to communicate in written and spoken English

Applications should include full curriculum vitae, publication list, and names and contact information of 3 referees. Please also include a summary of your research experience.

Please send applications to:

Related publications:

Tay Y, Zhang J, Thomson AM, Lim B, Rigoutsos I. (2008) MicroRNAs to Nanog, Oct4 and Sox2 coding regions modulate embryonic stem cell differentiation. Nature 455(7216),1124-1128.
- Selected by Faculty of 1000
Tay Y, Kats L, Salmena L, Weiss D, Tan SM, Ala U, Karreth F, Poliseno L, Provero P, Di Cunto F, Lieberman J, Rigoutsos I, Pandolfi PP. (2011) Coding-independent regulation of the tumor suppressor PTEN by competing endogenous mRNAs. Cell 147, 344–357.
- Selected by Faculty of 1000
Tay Y, Rinn J, Pandolfi PP. (2014) The multilayered complexity of ceRNA crosstalk and competition. Nature. 505, 344-352.

Postdoctoral Fellow – Prof Toshio Suda's Lab

Postdoctoral positions are available immediately for PhD with experience in cancer and stem cell biology research. The successful candidate will help to design experiments, conduct experiments, analyse data, and provide support to the Principal Investigator and his team.

Candidates with expertise in hematopoietic stem cell with strong background and working knowledge of basic molecular/cellular biology and biochemistry techniques such as cell culture, cloning, real-time PCR, isolation of cells, western blotting, immunoprecipitation, immunohistochemistry is preferred. Candidates with experience in laboratory management is also highly desirable.

Motivated and hardworking candidates with ability to communicate in written and spoken English are welcome to apply. Applications should include full curriculum vitae, publication list, information on years of experience in research and laboratory work, and names and contact information (email and telephone numbers) of 3 referees.

Please send applications to:

Prof Toshio Suda
Senior Principal Investigator, CSI
Email: csits[at]nus.edu.sg
Click here for more info

Research Fellow – A/Prof Edward Kai-Hua Chow's Lab

Research Fellow Position available to start in November, 2019 in A/Prof. Edward Kai-Hua Chow Lab

Real-Time Personalised Treatment of Multiple Myeloma

Combinatorial therapy is a hallmark of multiple myeloma treatment with a wide range of drugs and drug combination approved for use. With such a wide array of therapeutics to choose from, determining the most appropriate drug combination for each patient remains a challenge in effectively treating these cancers. This is particularly difficult given the heterogeneous nature of cancer. Different multiple myeloma patients have different genomic alterations that ultimately affect how they will respond to different drug combinations. Thus, there is a need to develop a method to rationally identify optimal patient-specific drug combinations as well as understand why different patient sub-groups are sensitive to specific drug combinations and resistant to others. We have developed an experimental-analytical hybrid artificial intelligence platform that maximizes use of small datasets to quickly identify all interactions within a set of biological inputs and map optimized combinations towards a desired biological effect output such as increased tumor cell killing or reduced toxicity. We have recently demonstrated that this AI platform, quadratic phenotypic optimisation platform (QPOP), could be used to efficiently identify novel effective drug combinations against Bortezomib-resistant multiple myeloma that outperformed standard-of-care regimens in preclinical models of multiple myeloma. This project will evaluate the application of the QPOP towards designing and optimising patient-specific combinations based on ex vivo analysis of primary patient samples. Ultimately, this project should lead to the development of novel effective drug combinations as well as implementation of QPOP in the clinic as a precision oncology platform.

We seek a highly motivated and innovative postdoctoral fellow with the ability to work independently and as part of a team. Candidates should have PhD and/or MD degree with a strong background in molecular biology and cancer drug discovery. Greater preferences will be given to candidates with prior experience working with primary patient samples as well as those with Matlab, R or Python experience.

Applications should include full curriculum vitae, publication list, information on years of experience in research and laboratory work, and names and contact information (email and telephone numbers) of 2 referees. Please also include a summary of your research experience.

Send your application to:
A/Prof. Edward Kai-Hua Chow <csikce@nus.edu.sg>

Research Fellow – Dr Melissa Fullwood Lab

Post-Doctoral Fellow – Bioinformatics Analysis of Chromatin Interactions in Cancer

The successful candidate will perform bioinformatics analyses of chromatin interactions in cancer and other analyses as needed to publish papers about chromatin interactions in cancer. The candidate will be responsible for writing papers, giving presentations about their work, collaborate with other wet lab and dry lab members of the team, performing experiments, generating data, organizing the team, and mentoring other members of the team especially junior bioinformaticians on the team. In addition, the candidate will also be responsible for ensuring that the lab’s data servers and systems are functioning correctly and all legal and privacy requirements are adhered. The ideal candidate would have excellent presentation and writing skills, strong data analysis capabilities (including knowledge of Python, R and the ability to work with Linux systems), good ability to work together with other people.

Applications should include full curriculum vitae and the names, addresses and contact numbers of 3 professional references. Please send applications to:

Research Assistant (Bioinformatics/ Quantitative Proteomics)

We are seeking a highly motivated candidate as a research assistant in the Kappei lab and the Quantitative Proteomics Core at the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore. Our young and international team addresses research questions on nucleic acid-protein interactions with quantitative mass spectrometry, cell biological and genetic approaches applied to cancer research and we further support research activities at CSI as part of the Quantitative Proteomics Core with quantitative proteomics solutions to study e.g. protein expression profiling, protein-protein interactions as well as post-translational modifications. The research assistant will develop analysis pipelines applied to proteomics datasets and will pursue projects at the interphase of proteomics, genomics, biochemistry, cell biology and cancer research.

Requirements:

Degree in life sciences, biostatistics, computer science or related fields
Programming skills in Python, R or equivalent language
Excellent communication skills and good team spirit
Fluent in spoken and written English
Ability to solve problems independently

Preference will be given to candidates with:

Experience with data analysis of proteomics and/or genomics data sets
Working knowledge of basic molecular biology techniques

Applications should include in a single PDF a cover letter, curriculum vitae and the names and contact information of at least 2 professional references. Please send applications with the reference “Bioinformatics MS” to:

Dr. Dennis Kappei
Principal Investigator
Email: dennis.kappei[at]nus.edu.sg
Click here for more info

Research Fellow (Bioinformatics/ Quantitative Proteomics)

We are seeking a highly motivated candidate as a research fellow in the Kappei lab and the Quantitative Proteomics Core at the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore. Our young and international team addresses research questions on nucleic acid-protein interactions with quantitative mass spectrometry, cell biological and genetic approaches applied to cancer research and we further support research activities at CSI as part of the Quantitative Proteomics Core with quantitative proteomics solutions to study e.g. protein expression profiling, protein-protein interactions as well as post-translational modifications. The research fellow will develop analysis pipelines applied to proteomics datasets and will pursue projects at the interphase of proteomics, genomics, biochemistry, cell biology and cancer research.

Requirements:

PhD in life sciences, biostatistics, computer science or related fields
Programming skills in Python, R or equivalent language
Excellent communication skills and good team spirit
Fluent in spoken and written English
Ability to solve problems independently

Preference will be given to candidates with:

Experience with data analysis of proteomics and/or genomics data sets
Working knowledge of basic molecular biology techniques

Dr. Dennis Kappei
Principal Investigator
Email: dennis.kappei[at]nus.edu.sg
Click here for more info

Research Assistants – Dr Sudhakar Jha Lab

Two research assistant positions are available in the Jha laboratory to study the role of chromatin remodeling complexes in cancer prevention. We are particularly interested in studying the changes in chromatin signature due to deregulation of these remodeling complexes and how these alterations in genome organization lead to the transformation of cells from a normal to a cancerous state. The successful candidate will investigate the role of the chromatin remodeling complexes in the maintenance of histone code and tumor suppression at protein and genome-wide level using cells in culture and knockout mouse techniques.

Requirements:
Candidates should have a BSc Degree with experience in the epigenetics and chromatin biology.

Applications, including curriculum vitae and bibliography, a summary of past accomplishments, and the names and email addresses of three references should be sent by e-mail to:

Dr Sudhakar Jha
Principal Investigator
Email: csisjha[at]nus.edu.sg
Click here for more info

Research Fellow – Dr Sudhakar Jha Lab

A Research Fellow position is available in the Jha laboratory to study the role of chromatin remodeling complexes in cancer prevention. We are particularly interested in studying the changes in chromatin signature due to deregulation of these remodeling complexes and how these alterations in genome organization lead to transformation of cells form a normal to cancerous state. The successful candidate will investigate the role of the chromatin remodeling complexes in the maintenance of histone code and tumor suppression at protein and genome-wide level using cells in culture and knockout mouse techniques. Applications, including curriculum vitae and bibliography, summary of past accomplishments, and the names and email addresses of three references should be sent by e-mail to:

Sudhakar JHA, PhD
Principal Investigator, Cancer Science Institute of Singapore
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Centre for Translational Medicine, 14 Medical Drive, MD6-13-02J, Singapore 117599
Tel: (65) 6601 2402 (office); (65) 6516 5993 (Lab) Fax:(65) 6873 9664
E-mail: csisjha@nus.edu.sg ; bchsjha@nus.edu.sg
Lab url:
https://www.csi.nus.edu.sg/web/sudhakar-jha/
http://www.med.nus.edu.sg/bch/bchsjha.htm

Research Assistant (Bioinformatics & Software Development) – Dr Jason Pitt Lab

The position of Research Assistant is immediately available in the laboratory of Dr Jason Pitt, which integrates cutting-edge data science techniques with biological expertise to facilitate novel discoveries in cancer genomics. Working closely with Dr Pitt, the shortlisted candidate will:

1)      Develop software solutions that allow cancer researchers to perform science at scale.
2)      Coordinate the aggregation, processing, and analysis of large genomic datasets.
3)      Document code and contribute to scientific manuscript writing.

Qualifications:

Bachelors’ or Masters’ in bioinformatics, computer science, genetics or related fields.
Strong Python programming skills and proficiency with Unix-based systems.
Working knowledge of databases (SQL, MySQL, noSQL, etc.) is an added advantage.
Experience analysing high-throughput biological data, particularly DNA sequencing is preferred.
Familiarity with high-performance and/or cloud computing is an added advantage.
Basic understanding of statistical inference.
Excellent written and spoken English.

Applications should include full curriculum vitae, publication list, and 2-3 reference letters. Please also include single page cover letter summarising your research experience, programmatic expertise, and why this position is of interest to you.

Dr. Jason J. Pitt
Special Fellow
Email: jason.j.pitt@nus.edu.sg
Click here for more info