Postdoctoral Associate, Computational Biology - Xavier Lab

Broad Institute • Cambridge, MA

124d • $70,000 - $92,667 • Onsite

About The Position

The Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Associate to join the Xavier Lab and Klarman Cell Observatory. The role leads data analysis and algorithm development to identify factors contributing to health and disease, with a focus on molecular and cellular mechanisms. The postdoctoral associate will work closely with computational and experimental biologists, including principal investigators, graduate students, and staff scientists, in an interdisciplinary research environment spanning computational biology, functional genomics, microbiology, and immunology.

The successful candidate will lead computational analyses for projects investigating inflammatory and autoimmune disease mechanisms. They will take primary responsibility for analyzing spatial and single-cell multi-omics datasets from human tissue samples and mouse models, and will direct, plan, and execute analyses of large datasets to identify biological features relevant to human health. The position involves collaboration across internal and external projects, development of methods and code, and participation in papers and grant proposals. A strong publication record and the ability to work independently in a collaborative research setting are sought.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Computational Biology, Computer Science, Physics, Math, Statistics, or a related quantitative field.
• Strong knowledge of a variety of biological research areas.
• 0+ years of experience within the field.
• Scientific and numerical programming skills in Python or R.
• Knowledge of classical machine-learning methods and deep-learning methods.
• Experience with a variety of bioinformatic analyses, including next-generation sequencing pipelines such as single-cell RNA-Seq, single-cell ATAC-Seq, and spatial transcriptomics analyses.
• Excellent critical-thinking, research, and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to work with biologists, computational biologists, data scientists, and software engineers.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment.
• Demonstrated ability to handle parallel tasks, recognize and solve problems effectively, and shift priorities rapidly.

Nice To Haves

• A strong publication record demonstrating significant contributions to the candidate’s area of study.

Responsibilities

• Oversee data generation and analysis across internal and external collaborations, including single-cell RNA-Seq, single-cell ATAC-Seq, spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and/or microbiome datasets.
• Adapt to tasks requiring different skill levels and learn new skills as needed.
• Perform analyses using current processes and identify, propose, and implement improvements to ensure high-quality datasets.
• Work with team members and leadership to plan project requirements and timelines, adjust priorities, and execute project tasks efficiently.
• Identify and help solve methodological problems, including adjusting experimental and computational protocols to generate high-quality datasets suited to core biological questions.
• Use single-cell and spatial transcriptomic approaches to understand tissue organization and how it changes in disease environments such as chronic inflammation.
• Apply a systems medicine approach to understand inflammatory and other diseases.
• Develop novel methods to facilitate exploration of unstructured datasets.
• Write maintainable, scalable, and performant code.
• Lead and carry out projects with minimal supervision.
• Participate in writing papers and grant proposals.
• Present project progress during group meetings.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Disability insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Flexible spending and health savings accounts
• At least 13 paid holidays
• Winter closure
• Paid time off
• Parental and family care leave
• Employee assistance program

What This Job Offers

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