Senior Staff Scientist

Department Overview

The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is a pioneer in personalized cancer treatment and research, led by Dr. Brian Druker, whose development of Gleevec transformed Chronic Myeloid Leukemia from a fatal disease to a manageable one and proved that targeted therapies can work. The institute focuses on precision oncology, the early detection, prevention, and treatment of cancer, and creating a welcoming and supportive environment for its caregivers, researchers, and support personnel.

Knight affiliates subscribe to three guiding principles: we are bold, we are supportive, and we work as a connected team in our fight to end cancer as we know it. The primary mission of the Division of Oncological Sciences at OHSU's Knight Cancer Institute is to better understand cancer through basic, translational, and population-based research that improves cancer prevention, detection, and treatments for all.

Our community of faculty, trainees, and staff brings together scientists from a broad range of disciplines and works collaboratively to advance innovation and translate discoveries from the lab into meaningful impacts for cancer patients and our community.

The primary mission of the Division of Oncological Sciences at OHSU's Knight Cancer Institute is to enhance understanding of cancer through basic, translational, and population-based research, ultimately improving cancer prevention, detection, and treatment for all. Our community of faculty, trainees, and staff brings together scientists from a broad range of disciplines and collaborates to advance innovation and translate laboratory discoveries into meaningful impacts for cancer patients and our community.

Every Knight Cancer employee is expected to embody our guiding principles:

• We act BOLDLY—Breakthroughs require pushing the boundaries of science, exploring new frontiers, and thinking differently
• We SUPPORT each other—Respect leads to trust, which leads to excellence
• We work as a CONNECTED team—We must leverage our collective brain power to conquer cancer because no one individual can do it alone

The Senior Staff Scientist will possess an exceptional or singular command of a professional sphere of knowledge, perform research, and have primary leadership responsibilities consistent with the goals of the research program, particularly working in a consortial environment and with complex prospective cohorts, as well as experience in grant writing, all with a focus on women’s health and cancer. This position is responsible for contributing to science through the development and maintenance of collaborative relationships, substantially contributing to grant writing and submissions, working with the research team, and setting work assignments under the direction of the PI, designing and conducting epidemiologic research and analyses, and writing manuscripts, among other scientific activities.

The Senior Staff Scientist holds primary responsibility for mentoring trainees and/or research personnel, particularly addressing questions regarding research analytics and writing, and must be actively engaged and accountable for the development of research-related deliverables.

Duties include:

• Train, mentor, and provide oversight and guidance to research staff in Dr. Tworoger’s group, including Master’s level and PhD researchers.
• Participate in writing non-scientific components of grants, including developing budgets and budget justifications, acting as the lead and as a substantial contributing writer for scientific sections, and ensuring all grant components are complete and submitted by internal deadlines.
• Plan and develop research projects and analysis plans, conduct statistical analyses, and prepare reports and manuscripts.
• Provide oversight and act as the main contact for select grant-funded projects to ensure timely progress on aims; maintain good working relationships with multiple departments, including, but not limited to, research finance, regulatory, IT, data management, biostatistics and bioinformatics, immunology, clinical trials office, and shared resource cores.
• Support Dr. Tworoger in communication with key…