Post-Doctoral Scholar- Medical Oncology

Position Overview

Dr. Rolfo’s laboratory is seeking an exceptional Postdoctoral Scholar to join a highly collaborative and translational research program focused on thoracic oncology. The laboratory integrates mechanistic cancer biology with clinically annotated patient-derived biospecimens to advance liquid biopsy technologies, biomarker discovery, and therapeutic strategies.

This position offers a unique opportunity to work at the interface of discovery and clinical translation, leveraging circulating tumor cells (CTCs), extracellular vesicles (EVs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), and next-generation sequencing (NGS) to address fundamental and clinically relevant questions in lung cancer biology.

Opportunities for Employees

• Develop independent, hypothesis-driven research programs
• Publish in high-impact journals
• Lead and contribute to competitive grant and fellowship applications (NIH, DOD, AACR)
• Build a strong foundation for independent academic or industry careers
• Work with clinically relevant, well-annotated patient samples, enabling direct translational impact

Motivated Individuals

• Strong conceptual thinking and ability to formulate impactful biological questions
• Proven ability to drive projects from conception to publication
• Technical depth with flexibility to adopt new methodologies
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• Commitment to mentoring and team development
• High standards of scientific rigor, reproducibility, and organization

Our Mission

Our mission is to transform outcomes for lung cancer patients through innovative and clinically relevant research. By integrating mechanistic insights with patient-derived data, we aim to accelerate the development of next-generation diagnostics and therapeutic strategies.

Required Technical Expertise

• Strong, hands-on experience in:
• Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) isolation and analysis
• Extracellular Vesicle (EV) isolation and characterization
• Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies
• Mammalian cell culture
• Molecular cloning
• Western blotting
• RT-PCR / qPCR
• RNA, DNA, and protein extraction

Preferred Experience

• Confocal microscopy and high-content imaging
• Flow cytometry or spectral flow cytometry
• Bioinformatics analysis of sequencing datasets
• Experience with human blood and patient-derived samples

Desired Skills & Experience

• Strong publication record demonstrating scientific impact
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Ability to balance independence with collaboration
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills
• Strong project management and organizational skills
• Commitment to excellence and scientific integrity

Minimum Required Qualifications – Education and Experience

• Ph.D. in Cancer Biology, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, or a related field
• Demonstrated track record of productivity (publications, preprints, or equivalent)
• Experience in translational cancer research preferred
• Experience in liquid biopsy technologies strongly preferred