PhD for Cancer Spatial Biology

About Our Campus: Hebrew University’s Faculty of Medicine is situated in southwestern Jerusalem, on the picturesque Ein Kerem campus. The Ein Kerem campus, established in 1960, is a research institution of international acclaim, and a pioneer of scientific inquiry, innovative biomedical research, and progressive health care. The Faculty’s interdisciplinary approach brings researchers together from across the globe and a spectrum of fields.

About Our Department: The Caldas Lab is part of the Lautenberg Center for Immunology and Cancer Research. The Center combines basic immunology and cancer research, among other fields. We are committed to providing advanced infrastructure and a stimulating environment for our scientists and students.

About Our Research:

Malignant tumors are complex, dynamic cellular ecosystems composed of cancer cells together with normal cells of stromal, vascular and immune origin. This complexity has profound implications for both cancer biology and clinical practice.

Over the past two decades, the Caldas laboratory has focused on the functional genomics of breast cancer and its biological and clinical relevance. The lab had a central role in redefining the molecular taxonomy of breast cancer, demonstrating how distinct phenogenomic landscapes shape patients’ clinical trajectories. It led seminal studies establishing circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a monitoring biomarker and liquid biopsy in breast cancer, and pioneered the use of patient-derived tumor explants as in vivo cancer models. More recently, in a landmark study integrating multi-omics approaches with machine learning, the lab showed that the biological features of breast tumor ecosystems can predict response to therapy.

The new Caldas laboratory at the Lautenberg Center, Faculty of Medicine, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, building on foundations established at University of Cambridge, will pursue two integrated research directions:

1. Modelling cancer ecosystems in space and time, using patient-derived tumor xenografts (PDTXs) and immune cells to study the regulation of cell fate and cell state in both malignant cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME).
2. Developing novel cancer biomarkers and therapeutics, through multi- omics, dynamic disease monitoring, and data integration and interpretation using machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Job Description: This PhD position is for a candidate interested in developing advanced spatial biology methods, including spatial transcriptomics and spatial proteomics. A particular focus will be methods for tracking clones in situ.

About Your Supervisor: Professor Carlos Caldas graduated in Medicine from the University of Lisbon and has served as Professor of Cancer Medicine at the University of Cambridge since 2002. In April 2025, he joined the Department of Immunology and Cancer Research, Faculty of Medicine, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as a Full Professor.

Professor Caldas was a Founding Senior Group Leader of the CRUK Cambridge Institute and the Founding Director of the Breast Cancer Program at the Cambridge Cancer Centre. He has been recognized by Web of Science as a Highly Cited Researcher every year from 2018 to 2024. His honors include the European Society for Medical Oncology Hamilton Fairley Award (2016), the European Society of Human Genetics Award (2021), the Susan G. Komen Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction in Basic Science (2021), and the ARC Foundation 51st Leopold Griffuel Award in Translational Cancer Research (2023).

Funding: 2200-2600 in USD (monthly).

Your Profile (To excel in this role, we seek candidates with):

• MSc in cancer biology (required). Expertise in spatial biology will be an advantage
• Strong academic record (as evidenced by BSc with GPA 3.5 or above and MSc with merit) and scientific curiosity (required)
• Motivation to work in a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and international research environment
• Excellent command of English

Embracing Diversity: At Hebrew University we believe that diversity inspires creativity, fosters curiosity, and enriches our ecosystem through academic collaboration and cultural exchange. We consider every member of our community an integral part, irrespective of their religion, gender, or ethnic origin.

Application: Please submit your application as three separate PDFs, each containing the following:

• Letter of motivation
• CV (including a list of publications)
• Copy of your original academic degree(s) and transcripts
• Names and contacts of at least 2 references.

Application Deadline: March 1st, 2026