Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Cancer Cell Cycle Biology and Cancer Epigenetics

The Goel Lab at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and The University of Melbourne is seeking applications for a postdoctoral research scientist. Supported by a prestigious Snow Medical Research Fellowship (AUD $8 million, 2022-2030) and a US Dept of Defense Era of Hope Scholar Award (USD $3 million, 2024-2028), the Goel Lab is intently focused on addressing fundamental unanswered questions relating to tumour dormancy and therapy-induced senescence in cancer. As a Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the successful candidate will have some liberty to guide the direction of project(s) pertinent to these themes, leveraging the lab’s expertise and suite of purpose-built, novel in vitro and in vivo models.

Under the direction of A/Prof Shom Goel, a medical oncologist and laboratory head, the Goel Lab positions itself at the intersection of cell cycle biology, epigenetics, and tumour immunology in cancer. Specifically, we study the cell cycle machinery and how it influences cancer biology in both cancer cells and stromal cells and leverage our discoveries to design new drug therapies for cancer.

We have developed several new transgenic mouse models of cancer which have proven valuable for uncovering new mechanisms of drug activity, and our work has been published in high-impact journals including Nature (2017), Cancer Cell (2016), Cancer Discovery (2024), and Nature Cancer (2021). Importantly, several of our discoveries have translated into large-scale clinical trials.

Essential requirements

• PhD in cancer biology, with a focus on cell cycle biology, epigenetics or immunology
• Strong track record in cancer research exemplified by a broad knowledge of cancer biology and successful publication of innovative scientific studies
• Ability to work well within a research team exemplified by collegiality, diligence, and accountability
• Technical and advanced experience in cancer epigenetics (e.g. ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq, Cut & Tag, Cut & Run) and/or cancer immunology
• Extensive experience with cell biology techniques including cell culture, conducting cell-based assays in vitro (i.e. cell counting, drug treatments), generation of retrovirus and lentivirus
• Experience with molecular biology techniques including western blotting; extraction of DNA, RNA, and protein from cells; PCR; RT-qPCR Also proficiency in complex molecular cloning protocols
• Experience working with laboratory mice including animal handling, oral gavage, mouse anaesthesia, and survival surgery
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Flexibility, ability to develop new skills and work with feedback
• High level organisational and time management skills, including punctuality
• Ability to keep abreast of the relevant scientific literature whilst carrying out laboratory work, and to integrate these tasks to develop new scientific questions to be addressed in the lab

About the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre:

At Peter Mac we aim to continuously improve cancer care, research and education across all cancers and for all people affected by cancer: changing lives, breaking new ground. Everything we do is underpinned by our core values, Excellence, Compassion and Innovation. Welcoming people from a wide variety of different backgrounds and experiences is critical to fostering innovation, cultivating compassion, attracting and retaining top talent and providing the best possible cancer care for our patients.

For more information and applications follow the link or email provided.