Post-doctoral researcher

When you step into a role, what do you want the purpose of the company you work for to be? How does that align with the individual purpose that motivates your ambition?

As the only independent Medical Research institute in Australia focused on childhood cancer, our purpose is to translate and discover (through world class research), new treatments that will cure cancer and reduce the side effects in children and adolescents.

We save & change lives. At The Children’s Cancer Institute, we believe that a life should be long. Cancer cuts life short for hundreds of children every year, before they’ve even had a chance to make their mark. We aim to not only improve their quality of life but eradicate the cause of their pain.

Choose to be part of a team that will nurture your talent and grow your career, so you too can contribute to this purpose. Together, we can, and we will cure all children of cancer. It’s not if. It’s when.

We are looking for a candidate with strong cellular and molecular biology skills to develop and apply novel cytometric and molecular approaches to understand the involvement of the immune system in childhood cancer.  This is post-doctoral position suitable for someone capable of driving projects to publishable end points. The ideal candidate will be a mature team player capable of independently progressing a body of work under limited direction.

Working predominantly with samples from the ZERO Childhood Cancer program the incumbent will be working closely with the Functional Genomics and Liquid Biopsy programs.  In addition to internal sample and technologies, access to the latest technologies will be provided through a well-developed collaboration network.

As our Post-doctoral researcher your purpose will be to:

• Develop a deeper understanding of the immune system in paediatric cancer with the view to turning the knowledge into clinically actionable findings.
• Work with others to create clinically relevant assays based off your findings.
• Plan, run, interpret, and troubleshoot experiments in line with the objectives of the program including but not limited to sensitive single-cell isolation and analysis.
• Actively contribute to the research outputs for the ZERO, Functional Genomics and Liquid Biopsy programs
• Actively engage and drive the continued development of the institutes technical capacity to ensure it remains at the cutting edge of clinically relevant research.
• Maintain a level of expertise through continued personal development and continuing education.
• Work with an extensive list of collaborators and stakeholders to ensure the continued development of clinically relevant liquid biopsy techniques and approaches.

To succeed you will have…

• A PhD with 3 year’s post doc experience (or equivalent) –a background in immunology will be viewed favourably but is not required.
• Proven capacity to publish.
• Ability to develop processes from first principles.
• Experience in troubleshooting issues and developing novel molecular approaches.
• Excellent wet lab skills
• Experience communicating across varying levels of technical expertise.
• Experience in working in a PC2 and Pre/Post PCR

We will support you to be your best with benefits that include but are not limited to:  

• Access to our ‘FlexBEST’ program – true flexibility from day 1 - options include hybrid working, school-friendly hours, and 9-day working fortnight.
• Focus on employee wellbeing, including a leading EAP program, and up to 5 gifted wellbeing days off (paid) per year.
• Investment in leadership development and career advancement opportunities

Join a group of dedicated people in a performance-driven environment to achieve success and discover what it's like to look forward to coming to work every day and make a real difference.

A detailed job description and additional information about Children's Cancer Institute can be found on our website at: https://www.ccia.org.au/careers-study . We embrace diversity and encourage applications from people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

To apply, please click the 'APPLY' link and forward both your resume AND cover letter (mandatory) clearly addressing the qualifications, experience and skills required.

Note: Applications will be reviewed prior to the closing date, which is dependent on the status of the recruitment process.