Staff Scientist

Position Overview

Staff Scientist – Biological Sciences Division, University of Chicago

The Kenny/Lengyel laboratory is part of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology/Section of Gynecologic Oncology, studying the biology of ovarian cancer. The laboratory has about 15 members investigating the role of metabolism and methyltransferases in ovarian cancer metastasis. We use a variety of cutting‑edge methods, including spatial proteomics, spatial metabolomics, 3D organotypic cultures of human tissue, spatiotemporal characterization of the immune system, and stable‑isotype tracing in patients.

Bioinformatic support and access to all Core facilities at the University of Chicago are available in the laboratory. We develop novel inhibitors to treat cancer and study biomarkers to diagnose ovarian cancer and detect ovarian cancer early.

Our translational research laboratory is in the Center for Integrated Science, a research building on campus that houses 40 independent research groups. This at‑will position is wholly or partially funded by contractual grant funding, which is renewed under provisions set by the grantor of the contract. Employment will be contingent upon the continued receipt of these grant funds and satisfactory job performance.

The role facilitates and promotes a research project or contributes to the scientific direction of a research resource. Receives a moderate level of guidance and direction. The focus of the job is to oversee a subgroup in the laboratory dedicated to projects using machine learning, data analysis, and artificial intelligence. The overall goal is to conduct multiple projects:

• Textual Prediction of Survival (LLM classification & Attention Modelling)
• Multimodal Prediction of Response to Platinum‑Based Chemotherapy (Computational Pathology & MIL)
• Scanner Calibration (Computational Pathology & Omics normalization)
• Pathological Phenotypes Show Survival Groups (Clustering & Computational Pathology)
• Deep Visual Proteomics (Cell Segmentation)
• CODEX (Cell Segmentation, Cell Classification, Community Detection)

The applicant will participate in grant writing, represent the laboratory at conferences, and provide project management for translational projects.

• Supervise new laboratory personnel in the development subgroup.
• Lead collaborative efforts to optimize methods, modelling, and analysis.
• Serve as the lead contact for collaborations using AI.
• Compliance of research activities with institutional, state, and federal regulatory policies.
• Support the scientific writing of protocols (IRB), publications, and grants (both federal and non‑federal).
• Contribute to proofreading, and fact‑checking papers, grants, and presentations.
• Serves as a resource for collecting data and performing analysis. Contributes to facilitating and promoting a research project by providing scientific or intellectual information.
• Reviews laboratory protocols and training on new techniques. Manage complex data sets for research.
• Leads the contributions to scientific writing and publications, including protocols and grants.
• Trains new laboratory personnel.
• Performs other related work as needed.

• PhD, MD, or equivalent doctoral degree and experience with pre‑clinical and clinical studies.

• PhD in related field.
• 2‑5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

• PhD, MD, or equivalent doctoral degree and experience with pre‑clinical and clinical studies.

• Five years of relevant research experience.
• A background in toxicology studies, clinical protocol development and execution.
• Experience with basic statistics.
• Experience with databases.
• Quality control.
• Previous experience developing standard operating procedures.

• Knowledge in one or more relevant scientific fields.
• Proficient in research techniques or methods.
• Knowledge of regulatory policies and procedures.
• Analytical skills.
• Problem‑solving skills.
• Attention to detail.
• Organizational skills.
• Verbal and written communication skills.
• Work independently and as part of a team.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office.