Research Postdoctoral Fellow

Children's National Hospital

3d • $40,000 - $150,000 • Remote

About The Position

The Rokita Lab at Children’s National Hospital is seeking a highly skilled Postdoctoral Fellow to join our team. We are situated within the Center for Cancer and Immunology Research (CCIR) and Brain Tumor Institute. This position will advance research on how pediatric brain tumors evolve across the full course of disease, from diagnosis through end of life.
The role involves close collaboration with researchers and clinicians within both Children’s National as well as external partners. The successful candidate will be mentored by Dr. Jo Lynne Rokita, lead bioinformatics-driven projects, participate in collaborative activities in the lab and BTI such as code review and/or workshop training, and contribute to grant applications and scientific manuscripts.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Quantitative Biology, Cancer Genetics, or related field.
• Expertise in Bash and either R or Python.
• Proficiency with cloud-based or high-performance computing environments for bioinformatics workflows.
• Proven experience with multiple genomic data types such as single nucleotide variants (SNVs), copy number variants, fusions, RNA expression, methylation, proteomics, and splicing data.
• Commitment to open science practices, including sharing and collaborating on code, data, and documentation.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate with other team members.
• Completed training in a specialty in a field of research.
• Demonstrated potential for successful career in research and related scholarly achievement.

Nice To Haves

• Preference will be given to those with cancer biology/genetics bioinformatics experience.
• Experience with tools and best practices for reproducibility such as Git and Docker.

Responsibilities

• Lead high-quality bioinformatics analyses on pediatric brain tumor datasets spanning genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic data across longitudinal and spatial postmortem samples.
• Design and implement downstream analytical workflows for high-throughput data using our GitHub, Docker, and AWS infrastructure, focusing on reproducibility, code efficiency, and scalability.
• Utilize cloud-computing environments (e.g., AWS EC2) and/or high-performance computing (HPC) to support large-scale or memory-intensive analyses.
• Actively and positively participate in sprints and code reviews, ensuring high standards for reproducibility and documentation.
• Engage with multidisciplinary teams, providing bioinformatics expertise to support collaborative research initiatives.
• Assist faculty in the conduct of research and reports to a principal investigator or CNRI Center Director.
• Participate directly in the design and conduct of experiments and therefore need technical knowledge and subject matter expertise encompassing several disciplines, such as molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, genetics, physiology or animal science, as well as epidemiology, health services research, clinical research, trial design and human subjects protection, as applicable to the focus of the lab.
• Train staff, graduate students and others in experimental procedures and study execution.
• Exercise general supervision in the workspace and assist with data management and analysis.
• Assist the principal investigator in the planning and execution of research projects, grant applications and publications.
• Assist in the management of resource allocations, and may manage day-to-day activities for the research project, such as purchasing, oversight of laboratory animals, radioactivity and biosafety issues or human subjects enrollment and protection and regulatory reporting.
• Guide or lead the work of peers, technicians or other research support staff as necessary to achieve specific assignments or complete large and complex projects.
• Plans, conducts and manages research projects within federal and institutional regulations and policies under the direction of the principal investigator.
• Uses research funds and resources appropriately.
• Maintains confidentiality of data as required.
• Meets all annual job-related training and compliance requirements.
• Conducts research of significant scientific value in the basic and/or translational science area(s) relevant practice specialty.
• Participates in reviewing manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals.
• Publishes in peer-reviewed, scientific, quality and management journals.
• Submits applications for grants or contracts for funding of research projects.
• Participates in research committees and workshops special interest groups.
• Collaborates effectively with CNRI researchers, external agencies and institutions to develop cooperative research initiatives, promote free discussion, research progress, skills productivity and morale with internal and external colleagues and stakeholders.
• Assists the principal investigator in the planning and execution research projects, grant applications and publications.
• May train technical staff, graduate students and others in laboratory procedures, provide general supervision in the laboratory and assist with data management and analysis, based on experience.
• May assist in the management of resource allocations, and may manage day-to-day activities in the laboratory, such as purchasing, oversight of laboratory animals, radioactivity, and biosafety issues.
• May guide or lead the work of peers, technicians or other diverse support staff as necessary to achieve specific assignments or complete large and complex projects.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health coverage, including medical, prescription, infertility, and transgender health services.
• Generous paid time off, including vacation accrual from day one, sick leave, holidays, and a personal day.
• Financial wellness support, including a 401(k) plan and healthcare and dependent care spending accounts.
• Employer-paid life, AD&D, and long-term disability coverage, with optional supplemental plans.
• Additional perks, including tuition assistance, fitness resources, employee assistance, commuter benefits, and more.

What This Job Offers

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