Research Postdoctoral Fellow

7144 13th Place NW
Washington, DC 20012

Kids Are Our Everything.

Department

10379 Ctr for Cancer Immunology Rsch

Pay Range

$40,000.00 - $150,000.00

The Rokita Lab at Children’s National Hospital is seeking a highly skilled Postdoctoral Fellow to join our team. We are situated within the Center for Cancer and Immunology Research (CCIR) and Brain Tumor Institute. This position will advance research on how pediatric brain tumors evolve across the full course of disease, from diagnosis through end of life.

The role involves close collaboration with researchers and clinicians within both Children’s National as well as external partners. The successful candidate will be mentored by Dr. Jo Lynne Rokita, lead bioinformatics-driven projects, participate in collaborative activities in the lab and BTI such as code review and/or workshop training, and contribute to grant applications and scientific manuscripts.

Key Responsibilities:

● Lead high-quality bioinformatics analyses on pediatric brain tumor datasets spanning genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic data across longitudinal and spatial postmortem samples.
● Design and implement downstream analytical workflows for high-throughput data using our GitHub, Docker, and AWS infrastructure, focusing on reproducibility, code efficiency, and scalability.
● Utilize cloud-computing environments (e.g., AWS EC2) and/or high-performance computing (HPC) to support large-scale or memory-intensive analyses.
● Actively and positively participate in sprints and code reviews, ensuring high standards for reproducibility and documentation.
● Engage with multidisciplinary teams, providing bioinformatics expertise to support collaborative research initiatives.

Application Process:

This position will be remote. Candidates should be prepared to share their GitHub handle and present a recent project as part of the interview process.

Required Qualifications:

● Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Quantitative Biology, Cancer Genetics, or related field.
● Expertise in Bash and either R or Python.
● Proficiency with cloud-based or high-performance computing environments for bioinformatics workflows.
● Proven experience with multiple genomic data types such as single nucleotide variants (SNVs), copy number variants, fusions, RNA expression, methylation, proteomics, and splicing data.
● Commitment to open science practices, including sharing and collaborating on code, data, and documentation.
● Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate with other team members.

Preferred Skills:
● Preference will be given to those with cancer biology/genetics bioinformatics experience.
● Experience with tools and best practices for reproducibility such as Git and Docker.

The Research Postdoctoral Fellow is a "research trainee" for the purpose of enhancing and developing research competencies in laboratory or clinical research settings and may engage in any of the following activities. The research postdoctoral fellow will assist faculty in the conduct of research and reports to a principal investigator or CNRI Center Director. They may serve in several roles in the laboratory setting, depending on the scientific specialty and needs of the research project supported. They may participate directly in the design and conduct of experiments and therefore need technical knowledge and subject matter expertise encompassing several disciplines, such as molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, genetics, physiology or animal science, as well as epidemiology, health services research, clinical research, trial design and human subjects protection, as applicable to the focus of the lab. Based on experience, the research postdoctoral fellow may train staff, graduate students and others in experimental procedures and study execution. The fellow will exercise general supervision in the workspace and assist with data management and analysis. In addition, the research postdoc fellow will be responsible for assisting the principal investigator in the planning and execution of research projects, grant applications and publications. They may further assist in the management of resource allocations, and may manage day-to-day activities for the research project, such as purchasing, oversight of laboratory animals, radioactivity and biosafety issues or human subjects enrollment and protection and regulatory reporting. The individual may also guide or lead the work of peers, technicians or other research support staff as necessary to achieve specific assignments or complete large and complex projects.

Minimum Education
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) (Required) Or
Medical Doctor (M.D.) (Required)

Required Skills/Knowledge
Completed training in a specialty in a field of research.
Demonstrated potential for successful career in research and related scholarly achievement.

Functional Accountabilities
Responsible Conduct of Research

• Consistently demonstrates adherence to the standards for the responsible conduct of research.

• Plans, conducts and manages research projects within federal and institutional regulations and policies under the direction of the principal investigator.

• Uses research funds and resources appropriately.

• Maintains confidentiality of data as required.

• Meets all annual job-related training and compliance requirements.

Commitment to Research

• Conducts research of significant scientific value in the basic and/or translational science area(s) relevant practice specialty.

• Participates in reviewing manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals.

• Publishes in peer-reviewed, scientific, quality and management journals.

• Submits applications for grants or contracts for funding of research projects.

• Participates in research committees and workshops special interest groups.

Collaborations

• Collaborates effectively with CNRI researchers, external agencies and institutions to develop cooperative research initiatives, promote free discussion, research progress, skills productivity and morale with internal and external colleagues and stakeholders.

Program Support

• Assists the principal investigator in the planning and execution research projects, grant applications and publications.

• May train technical staff, graduate students and others in laboratory procedures, provide general supervision in the laboratory and assist with data management and analysis, based on experience.

• May assist in the management of resource allocations, and may manage day-to-day activities in the laboratory, such as purchasing, oversight of laboratory animals, radioactivity, and biosafety issues.

• May guide or lead the work of peers, technicians or other diverse support staff as necessary to achieve specific assignments or complete large and complex projects.

Benefits That Support You:

• Comprehensive health coverage, including medical, prescription, infertility, and transgender health services.
• Generous paid time off, including vacation accrual from day one, sick leave, holidays, and a personal day.
• Financial wellness support, including a 401(k) plan and healthcare and dependent care spending accounts.
• Employer-paid life, AD&D, and long-term disability coverage, with optional supplemental plans.
• Additional perks, including tuition assistance, fitness resources, employee assistance, commuter benefits, and more.

Why Join Us:

• Nationally Recognized Excellence – Consistently ranked among the Top 10 Children’s Hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
• Leading Pediatric Care – One of the largest and most comprehensive children’s hospitals in the country, offering nationally ranked specialties and cutting-edge treatments.
• Innovation & Research – A premier academic medical center with a strong commitment to pediatric research, education, and advancing the future of child health.
• Mission-Driven Culture – Dedicated to providing family-centered care while fostering a collaborative, supportive environment for clinical teams.

The disclosed salary range includes the minimum and maximum rates within which Children’s National believes an individual’s base pay rate will fall for this position. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the maximum of the pay range. The exact pay rate for this position will be based on a variety of factors in alignment with the Children’s National compensation philosophy. These factors are legitimate and non-discriminatory including, but not limited to, the current market conditions; organizational needs; the individual’s combination of prior work experience, level of education, knowledge, skills, and other qualifications. Children’s National is committed to providing a fair and competitive total rewards package to each of our employees. This base salary range does not include our comprehensive benefits package or any additional compensation for which this position may be eligible.

Childrens National Hospital is an equal opportunity employer that evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, identity, or other characteristics protected by law. The “Know Your Rights” poster is available here: and the pay transparency policy is available here: Know Your RightsPay Transparency Nondiscrimination Poster.

Please note that it is the policy of Children's National Hospital to ensure a “drug-free” work environment: a workplace free from the illegal use, possession or distribution of controlled substances (as defined in the Controlled Substances Act), or the misuse of legal substances, by all staff (management, employees and contractors). Though recreational and medical marijuana are now legal in the District of Columbia, Children's National and its affiliates maintain the right, in accordance with our policy, to enforce a drug-free workplace, including prohibiting recreational or prescribed marijuana.

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