"Computational Biologist"

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/HHMI/Harvard Medical School/Broad Institute- Computational Biology Position in the Kadoch Laboratory

Kadoch Laboratory

Chromatin and gene regulation in human disease

The Kadoch Laboratory at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Broad Institute, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute is seeking a highly qualified individual who has recently obtained or is about to obtain a BA/BS degree to join our vibrant research team as a Computational Biologist focused on cancer biology, epigenetics, and chromatin regulation. Our lab uses multidisciplinary approaches including biochemistry, biophysics, structural biology, chemical biology, and functional genomics, epigenomics, and AI-based approaches to explore the mechanisms of chromatin remodeling complexes, which are among the most frequently mutated cellular entities in human cancers and other diseases. As such, our computationally centered projects in the lab are highly diverse and involve extensive genomics (i.e. analysis of diverse sequencing methods including DNA-sequencing, RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq), ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq, CUT&RUN, CUT&TAG, single-cell ATAC+RNA-seq, among other approaches), analysis of functional screening datasets (i.e. genome-wide as well as targeted CRISPR- and base editing-based screens for cell fitness or other cellular outcomes), 3D structural biology (i.e. use of Pymol, UCSF Chimera for structural analysis, mapping mutations, etc.), analysis and integration of mass-spectrometry proteomics datasets, and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) and systems-biology-focused efforts (i.e. large genomics and proteomics dataset analysis and integration, Deep Mind Alphafold, Rosetta, other approaches). Our exciting collection of ongoing projects involve collaborations with laboratories across the Harvard and MIT research centers, hospitals in Boston and Cambridge, as well as with groups across the country and internationally. This is a unique opportunity with significant potential for the student to work directly with the PI as well as with senior postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and medical students. In addition to working as part of a team(s), the student will carry forward independent projects resulting in authorship on publications and opportunities to present work at local, national, and international meetings.

The successful applicant will have coding experience (i.e. in R, Python, or other languages) relevant to computational biology/bioinformatics, familiarity with working in a Unix environment and use of SLURM or similar job scheduler (high performance computing and computing clusters), working knowledge of genomic technologies and bioinformatic processes and/or structural biology, ability to both implement and develop new bioinformatic pipelines in shell scripts, interest and proven abilities in data visualization (such as in ggplot2, matplotlib, D3.js etc.), and proficiency in documenting research processes to ensure reproducibility (e.g., markdown syntax and Git/GitHub) as well as experience in one or more of the following areas: computational biology/computer science, molecular biology, genetics and/or genomics, cell biology, and protein biochemistry and/or structural biology, through focused prior dry or wet lab research experience (i.e. 1-2 years in research laboratories with strong letters of recommendation) as well as undergraduate coursework.

We are looking for candidates who will be available for two years in the lab; in particular, we are looking for candidates who are graduating from colleges/universities this Spring 2026 and considering applying to top-tier graduate and/or medical school (PhD/MD/MD-PhD) programs following their tenure in the lab, OR, aiming to function as a senior staff computational biologist in the academic setting for years to come. To date, all postbac computational biology lab members in this position have gone on to pursue PhD, MD, or MD/PhD programs at highest-tier institutions; Dr. Kadoch is firmly committed to mentorship, career guidance and support, and other senior lab personnel will also provide consistent research and career mentorship. The ideal candidate will be exceptionally motivated, highly communicative, mature, detail and goal oriented, able to work both independently and in teams, and will possess excellent organizational, communication, and analytical skills.

For more information, please contact Cigall Kadoch, Ph.D., directly at cigall_kadoch@dfci.harvard.edu, and please copy Dr. Kadoch’s assistant, Ms. Kristen Applegate, at kadochoffice@gmail.com. We will hire for this position on a rolling basis over the next couple of months and will close the position once a new hire have been confirmed.

For more information about our laboratory, please see the (to be updated) Kadoch Lab website at http://www.kadochlab.org, our recent publications (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=kadoch+c), and news via our X handles, @kadochlab, and @ckadoch.

• Data Processing: Uses existing tools to build data processing pipelines to convert raw data into formats compatible with conventional statistical analysis and visualization
• Data Analysis: Performs routine analysis for which established tools exist and are considered reliable. Keep up with the computational biology literature to assure pipelines components are up to date
• Data and Software Management: Monitors, downloads, organize, and manages data from public data repositories or generated by collaborates. Evaluate published tools and updates pipeline as necessary.
• Manuscript Preparation: Drafts the computational biology sections of a manuscript; assists in writing the results section; checks manuscripts for numerical accuracy; prepares tables and figures
• Grant Preparation: Helps to formulate specific aims, explains options for experimental design, and develops data analysis plans
• Research Portfolio Management: Develops timelines and components for multiple routine projects; masters multi-tasking so that complex projects involving many interdisciplinary individuals move forward smoothly
• Team interactions: Offers peer-to-peer training for new statisticians in design, analysis, and presentation of results. It is expected that insight into career growth will be offered to more junior statisticians

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:

• Computational Skills: Knowledge of UNIX/Linux. Familiarity with scripting in Python and statistical programming using R
• Data analysis Skills: Familiarity with principles of experimental design and the modern data analysis paradigms is required
• Collaboration: Able to discuss and present results, share ideas accurately and communicate them effectively, both in writing and verbally
• Strong interpersonal skills - ability to effectively interact with all levels of staff and external contacts
• Excellent analytical, organizational and time management skills

MINIMUM JOB QUALIFICATIONS:

The position requires a bachelor's degree in a STEM field, with a master's degree in bioinformatics, computational biology, statistics, biostatistics, computer science, or life sciences preferred. Candidates need at least 1 year of experience with a bachelor's degree or no experience with a master's degree, with academic research or authorship in scientific publications potentially substituting for work experience.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: None

PATIENT CONTACT: None