Senior Research Scientist

MD Anderson Cancer Center•Houston, TX

About The Position

The Colon and Rectal Surgery department at MD Anderson Cancer Center focuses on innovative approaches to the treatment of colon and rectal cancers, linking high-quality patient care, preservation of life and translational research. Our research spans all aspects and stages of colorectal cancer, from screening and prevention to multi-disciplinary approaches for treating advanced cancer. The role is assigned to Dr. Smith's lab and reports within that laboratory setting. The ideal candidate will possess strong hands‑on experience in both in vitro and in vivo experimental systems, with a demonstrated ability to design, execute, and analyze complex biological studies. This individual will bring expertise in 3D organoid culture, including the establishment, maintenance, and experimental manipulation of organoid models to study disease mechanisms, tissue development, or therapeutic response. A solid background in the immunology or immuno‑oncology research field is essential, with experience applying immunological techniques to investigate cellular interactions, immune signaling pathways, and host–tumor or host–tissue responses. The candidate should be proficient in standard in vitro assays and animal‑based in vivo models, contributing to translational research efforts that bridge bench science and clinical relevance.

Requirements

Master's Degree Natural sciences or related field.
Six years Experimental or scientific work experience, or with PhD or Medical degree, three years in experimental or scientific work.

Nice To Haves

PhD Natural sciences.
Ten years research experience in the immunology or immuno‑oncology field, 3D organoid culture systems and hands‑on in vitro and in vivo experimental experience supporting translational research

Responsibilities

Responsible for planning, organizing, coordinating and participating in research projects, and implementing research strategies, experimental designs, and methodologies.
Selects and manages laboratory personnel and provides guidance and support to other researcher and technicians, while ensuring that research activities adhere to ethical standards and regulatory requirements.
Determines specific goals or objectives to be obtained, evaluates research data and develops and revises techniques or approaches to work problems.
Functions in a separate and independent manner in the design and initiation of research experiments.
Designs, develops or adapts equipment used in experiments or research to obtain desired results.
Responsible for laboratory equipment and implementing safety procedures.
Complies with all MD Anderson policies and standards.
Presents findings of research projects to professional groups and prepares scientific documents for publication.
Collaborates with internal and external scientists, researchers, and industry partners.
Provides monthly updates to all relevant laboratory teams and physicians.
Collaborates on the preparation and analysis of specific protocol reports to guide decisions regarding therapeutic efficacy, manuscript preparation and grant submissions.
Analyzes complex scientific data, interprets results, and draws significant conclusions.
Supervises data collection, reporting, and analysis for assigned specific disease categories and studies.
Collaborates to ensure that relevant data is collected at designed stages in the research process, is entered into database(s) and reported, as required, to the Institutional Research Board (IRB) and the appropriate national registries.