Research Fellow-Neuroscience

The research lab of Dr. Ertekin-Taner MD PhD, in the Department of Neuroscience, is looking for a motivated postdoctoral Research Fellow to join their multidisciplinary team. The mission of the laboratory is to identify precision medicine therapies and biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases through integrating large-scale multi-modal data from deeply phenotyped human cohorts with experimental validation to uncover disease mechanisms and precision medicine targets. The team includes PhD and MD scientists, bioinformatics specialists, experienced technologists, and trainees. The faculty plays an active role in supporting the training of staff and furthering career development. 

The Research Fellow will join a multi-site NIH funded study leveraging systems biology approaches to analyze multiomics data to derive novel insights into Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and refine molecular disease targets.

For additional information on the research program: Overview - Precision Medicine in Neurodegeneration Lab of Nilufer Ertekin-Taner

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will work collaboratively with scientists and bioinformatics specialists across the team to tackle important and innovative research questions with opportunities to contribute to the following areas: 

Independent Methodology & Tool Development: Design, build, and deploy robust bioinformatics pipelines and custom software tools to answer specific, complex scientific questions rather than relying solely on existing frameworks.

Integrative Multiomics Modeling: Lead the analytical execution of integrative omics strategies, bridging layers across different omics modalities including but not limited to whole-genome sequencing, single cell RNA sequencing, and spatial transcriptomics.

Public Data Mining & Acquisition: Proactively identify, request, and safely transition massive external datasets into our data analytic pipelines for validation and replication analyses. 

Cloud & Infrastructure Management: Deploy, scale, and manage large-scale computational workflows across Cloud Environments and hybrid on-premises high-performance computing (HPC) clusters.

Scientific Communication: Author high-impact publications, present methodology and discoveries at major international scientific meetings, and contribute to the drafting of grant proposals.

Application Requirements

To be considered for this highly competitive position, please submit the following: 

1. Cover Letter detailing your research interests, how your expertise aligns with the role, and your career goals. 

2. Curriculum Vitae (CV) including a full list of publications. 

3. Code Portfolio / GitHub Link: A link to a public or shared GitHub/GitLab repository (or equivalent portfolio) displaying your original code, tool-building documentation, or pipeline implementations if applicable. 

4. Contact information for three professional references.

A Research Fellow at Mayo Clinic is a temporary position intended to provide training and education in research. Individuals will train in the research program of a Mayo Clinic principal investigator. Qualified individuals will demonstrate the potential for research as evidenced by their training and peer-reviewed publications and should become competitive for national research grants. Proof of English proficiency is required for J-1 Short-Term Scholars, Research Scholars, Professors, Specialists, and Student Interns sponsored by Mayo Clinic.

Motivated scientist with a strong work ethic and excellent training with a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Statistical Genetics, Biostatistics, Computer Science, or a closely related quantitative discipline, or a PhD in Neuroscience or related fields with relevant computational experience. 

A proven track record of designing analytical strategies and developing novel tools/pipelines to solve open-ended biological questions.

Working knowledge and direct experience operating within cloud infrastructures, containerization (Docker, Singularity), and workflow managers (Nextflow, Snakemake).

Research Fellow is appropriate for individuals who have completed no more than one prior postdoctoral fellowship, at Mayo Clinic or elsewhere.