Data Scientist

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has the potential to unlock the power of data by further developing and investing in talent, team science and infrastructure to optimize multidimensional data integration, analysis and application for the benefit of patients with cancer. The Institute for Data Science in Oncology (IDSO) is a signature priority program aimed at transforming the patient experience, enhancing quality of life and accelerating scientific breakthroughs via advanced, data-driven approaches to cancer care. IDSO will enable teams to search for, learn from and apply as much information as possible gathered from every patient MD Anderson has seen or will see. By growing a data-centric culture and advancing data management and analytics maturity, we provide better, state-of-science and state-of-data-science care for patients while exploring areas of cancer research and treatment currently unknown to clinical communities.

The IDSO recruits, positions and enables best-in-class data scientists to unravel seemingly insoluble problems in cancer and work toward meaningful solutions for patients. Our aims include reducing the time between diagnostic procedures and treatment decisions, advancing drug discovery efforts and bringing new, precise medicines to bedsides sooner. The IDSO centralizes our focused institutional investment in data science, as well as enables partnerships with other world-leading organizations, to operate and enhance an unprecedented oncological "data supply chain" designed to accelerate research and treatment innovation. Comprised of the best minds in a myriad of scientific and data-driven fields, the IDSO facilitates a culture grounded in our innovative "team-data science" principles, such as shared motivation, shared learning, provenance linking insights to observations and integrated data governance.

One of the five focus areas IDSO has prioritized is Focus Area 2 - Single Cell Spatial Omics to Unveil Cancer Complexity, which is co-led by Dr. Linghua Wang, an Associated Professor in the department of Genomic Medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center and a recognized computational biologist and leader in single-cell spatial research in cancer. Our goal is to build a world-class data science hub for single-cell and spatial omics studies to accelerate the discovery and translation of cancer research at MD Anderson and beyond.

We are seeking multiple highly motivated and enthusiastic Assistant Data Scientists to assist in the analysis and development of algorithms and software for clinical, operational, and scientific problems.

Dr. Linghua Wang and her group will provide guidance and support, assisting the candidates in brainstorming workflow decisions and optimizing the pipeline development process. With our significant expertise in the field, we are committed to supporting each candidate achieve excellence in their role.

JOB SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES:

• Participate in the design, development, and optimization of single-cell and spatial omics data analysis pipelines and computational frameworks.
• Benchmark computational methods and toolkits to ensure best practices and excellence in data processing and analysis.
• Ensure scalability and efficiency of the pipelines to process, analyze, and integrate large and complex datasets.
• Conduct rigorous testing and validation of computational tools to ensure accuracy and reproducibility.
• Participate in the design, development, and optimization of interactive web portals for effective data exploration and visualization.

Collaboration and Communication:

• Meet with teams and collaborators regularly to discuss projects, communicate results, and provide computational expertise. Effective collaboration is a strong component of this role.
• Design, develop, and lead firsthand training workshops and seminars.

Research and Publication:

• Assist with code submission and distribute analytical methods and codes to the scientific community.
• Assist with manuscript and grant preparation and presentations, and present at lab meetings, departmental and institutional seminars, and appropriate scientific conferences.

Other Duties:

• Attend collaborator meetings and team working group meetings, efficiently manage projects to ensure timely completion while optimizing the use of resources.
• Stay up to date with relevant technologies, methods, literature, systematically gather information systematically.

With Drive, you see that you can serve as a leader whether you have a formal leadership role or not. You tackle problems, move past setbacks and hardships, and do not lose sight of your goals. (Competencies: Self-Confidence, Analytical Thinking, Innovative Thinking, Technical Expertise)

You demonstrate Professionalism by setting the example for others and consistently modeling MD Anderson's values and service standards. You communicate effectively in a variety of ways. (Competencies: Inspire Trust, Oral Communication, Written Communication)

Through Emotional Intelligence, you maintain awareness of your own emotions and the emotions of those around you. Use nonverbal cues and feelings to engage others in a responsible and responsive way. (Competencies: Active Listening, Teaming, Self-Reflection)

Having Coachability means you are engaged in relentless learning. You constantly ask questions and stay curious. You understand that the organization constantly evolves, and you should as well. (Competencies: Develop Oneself, Adaptability)

Ideal Candidate will have:

• Soft Skills
• Must be honest, highly motivated, reliable, responsible, and well-organized.
• Strong attention to detail, with the ability to multi-task and a willingness to learn new methods and technologies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative and interdisciplinary team environment (strong plus).
• Possess strong problem-solving skills with the ability to analyze complex issues and develop effective solutions.

Onsite Presence/Hybrid.

EDUCATION:

• Required: Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Computational Biology, or related field.
• Preferred: Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Computational Biology or related field.

EXPERIENCE:

• Required: None.
• Preferred: Experience in Biostatistics, Computational Biology, genomic, or related field.