About City of Hope

City of Hope is an independent biomedical research and treatment organization for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.

Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a leader in bone marrow transplantation and immunotherapy such as CAR T cell therapy. City of Hope’s translational research and personalized treatment protocols advance care throughout the world. Human synthetic insulin, monoclonal antibodies and numerous breakthrough cancer drugs are based on technology developed at the institution.  AccessHope™, a subsidiary launched in 2019 serves employers and their health care partners by providing access to City of Hope’s specialized cancer expertise.

A National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, City of Hope is ranked among the nation’s “Best Hospitals” in cancer by U.S. News & World Report and received Magnet Recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Its main campus is located near Los Angeles, with additional locations throughout Southern California and in Arizona.

City of Hope’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We believe diversity, equity and inclusion is key in serving our mission to provide compassionate patient care, drive innovative discovery, and advance vital education focused on eliminating cancer and diabetes in all of our communities.  Our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ensures we bring the full range of skills, perspectives, cultural backgrounds and experiences to our work -- and that our teams align with the people we serve in order to build trust and understanding.  We are dedicated to fostering a community that embraces diversity - in ideas, backgrounds and perspectives; this is reflected in our work and represented in our people.

Position Summary

One full-time postdoc position is available at Dr. Yun Rose Li’s laboratory at Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope. Dr. Li is a physician scientist in radiation oncology whose research integrates genetic epidemiology, innovative sequencing and bioinformatics technologies, molecular biology approaches using cell-based and animal models, and biomarker studies from patients enrolled in clinical trials to better understand the role of oxidative stress in cancer risk and treatment response. The prospective candidates should be highly self-motivated, creative, and capable of working independently and in a team. This postdoctoral fellowship is geared to those with at least 1-2 years of prior experience working in computational biology or programming related fields, AND who wish to develop advanced expertise and research experience in the application of computational approaches in cancer biology and genomics.

Candidates are expected to demonstrate strong ability in the following areas: 1) independent and critical thinking; 2) communication skills both orally and in writing; 3) data and project documentation and management; 4) technical skills in or very strong desire to become proficient in computational biology or bioinformatics, particularly with NGS including single cell approaches but also interest in developing expertise in analysis of ctDNA, microbiome, and functional genomics datasets such as expression or proteomics (Strongly Preferred); and 5) knowledge of wet lab aspects of NGS or preparation of sequencing libraries for genomics, transcriptomic and single cell sequencing (Desired).

Candidate will be involved in grant proposal and manuscript writing and expected to pursue an independent scientific career after the postdoc training. During the training, the candidate will partner with our team members and external collaborators in serving as the scientific/technical expert to help drive our high-throughput sequencing projects and help develop any projects based on the most advanced technologies. A “can-do” attitude with strong self-motivation is a must. Candidates who are interested in academics or alternative career paths are all encouraged to apply.

Basic education, experience and skills required for consideration:

• Ph.D. in Genomics, Bioinformatics or related field including Computer Sciences will be considered as well as those with Biomedical Sciences, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Cell Biology degrees but have computational skills.
• Experience in high-throughput sequencing library preparation, sequencing project planning and troubleshooting desirable.
• Experience with coding in R, Matlab and/or Python, and adapt to using the UNIX command line and performing analysis using high performance computing cluster; individuals with background in physical sciences/computer science/engineering without biology backgrounds but who want to pivot to a future career in biomedical sciences are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Ability to effectively communicate with colleagues in a fast-pace teamwork environment.
• Demonstrates flexibility and adaptability in the workplace.

Additional Information:

• For more information on Dr. Li’s research please visit here
• The curriculum vitae should include a cover letter including a detailed personal statement describing any prior research experience and describing your interest in this position.
• The estimated pay scale represents the typical [salary/hourly] range City of Hope reasonably expects to pay for this position, with offers determined based on several factors which may include, but not be limited to, the candidate’s experience, expertise, skills, education, job scope, training, internal equity, geography/market, etc.  This pay scale is subject to change from time to time.
• As a condition of employment, City of Hope requires staff to comply with all state and federal vaccination mandates.
• As the ideal candidate will be working primarily in genomics/computational biology, this is a position that is specified to be in-person for the first 6 months but can be eligible to be converted to a partially or largely remote role depending on performance, experience and fit. 

City of Hope is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability.