Postdoctoral Researcher - Breast Cancer Biology

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Position Summary

The Nguyen lab is looking for a motivated postdoctoral researcher to work on an exciting project in breast cancer. The lab is led by Dr. Long Nguyen, a clinician scientist and breast medical oncologist, and affiliated with both the Department of Medicine, and the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. The lab is located at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in the Research Tower within the MaRS building.

https://lvnguyenlab.ca/

Our research program is focused on breast cancer with 3 themes of research activity: (1) cancer stem cells, (2) cell state plasticity, and (3) treatment resistance. We are interested in understanding the mechanisms that regulate cancer stem cell activity in human breast cancer, how these contribute to disease progression, relapse and treatment resistance, with the goal of designing new effective treatment strategies. We work with human cancer cell lines, patient-derived xenograft models and patient-derived organoid models. We apply advanced clonal tracking strategies in conjunction with single cell sequencing platforms to study the link between phenotype, genotype and function at clonal and single cell resolution.

The successful applicant will be designing and leading their own research in 2 main directions. First, they will write, establish and lead a translational research protocol to acquire samples from patients with breast cancer for in-depth molecular and functional characterization in the lab. Second, they will establish new molecular tools to prospectively isolate breast cancer stem cells and measure tumorigenic activity with in vitro and in vivo assay systems. Expert molecular and cell biology skills are essential, basic computational skills in R and/or Python are required, and this role may involve mentoring and supervision of graduate students. Collaboration with industry and international academic partners is a possibility depending on the success of the project.

The interview process will be conducted on a rolling basis every 2 months until the position is filled. Suitable candidates will be contacted for a 3-step process: (1) one-on-one meeting with Dr. Nguyen, (2) a virtual seminar presentation followed by Q&A with lab members, and (3) an in-person interview consisting of a set of standard interview questions.

Duties

In addition to working alongside some of the most talented and inspiring healthcare professionals in the world, UHN offers a wide range of benefits, programs and perks. It is the comprehensiveness of these offerings that makes it a differentiating factor, allowing you to find value where it matters most to you, now and throughout your career at UHN.

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Please be advised that a Criminal Record Check may be required of the successful candidate. Should it be determined that any information provided by a candidate be misleading, inaccurate or incorrect, UHN reserves the right to discontinue with the consideration of their application.

UHN is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive recruitment process and workplace. Requests for accommodation can be made at any stage of the recruitment process. Applicants need to make their requirements known.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.