Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center • Seattle, WA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is seeking a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow to study the evolutionary dynamics of B cell affinity maturation. The goal of this project is to use phylogenetic and statistical methods to understand how evolutionary forces shape B cell receptor evolution during affinity maturation and to test biological hypotheses about this process directly in human B cell repertoire data. Affinity maturation is the process by which B cells accumulate mutations and are selected for improved antigen binding, ultimately producing the antibodies that protect us from infection. Understanding this process is important for basic research, such as probing the origins of autoimmune disease, and for translational work, such as designing vaccines that elicit specific immune responses. The ideal candidate will have experience with phylogenetics, population genetics, or another evolutionary framework, as well as experience with statistical modeling and computer programming. However, candidates with less statistical or computational expertise but a strong desire to expand their skills in this area are encouraged to apply. The position offers opportunities to improve coding abilities through clean coding practices, code review, and a modern development workflow, and to enhance biological understanding through computation by working closely with collaborators in statistics and immunology.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in biology, computer science, math, or another relevant area
• Solid foundation in phylogenetics, population genetics, or another challenging evolutionary or statistical estimation problem
• Computer programming experience
• Clear ability to perform independent research

Nice To Haves

• Experience with phylogenetics, population genetics, or another evolutionary framework
• Experience with statistical modeling and computer programming
• Deep desire to expand skills in statistical or computational areas
• Motivation to improve biological understanding through computation
• Enthusiasm for working closely with collaborators in statistics and immunology

Responsibilities

• Develop and apply phylogenetic and statistical methods for analyzing B cell receptor lineages
• Test hypotheses about affinity maturation using existing and newly collected repertoire datasets
• Write software implementing these methods
• Write papers describing the results
• Work with a broad range of leading researchers, including collaborators with expertise in modeling B cell repertoire dynamics and repertoire data collection

Benefits

• medical/vision
• dental
• flexible spending accounts
• life
• disability
• retirement
• family life support
• employee assistance program
• onsite health clinic
• income-based child care subsidy
• tuition reimbursement
• paid vacation (22 days per year)
• paid sick leave (up to 30 calendar days per occurrence of a qualifying reason)
• paid holidays (13 days per year)
• paid parental leave (up to 4 weeks)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree