Research Positions at UCSF: Computational biology, bioinformatics, databases

[Jain, Ajay]

ABOUT THE POSITIONS:
We are seeking two individuals for post-doctoral positions in
computational research applied to the study of cancer. Candidates for
these positions must have a PhD in computer science or closely related
field and they ideally will have experience applying sophisticated
computation to real-world problems (e.g. computational biology, drug
discovery, object recognition, robotics, etc.). Experience in
machine-learning, neural networks, computational geometry, or physical
modeling is beneficial, as is formal training in chemistry, biology,
or physics. Experience in applying machine learning techniques to
problems involving noisy data is particularly relevant. Candidates
will be expected to learn aspects of disciplines complementary to
their own and collaborate extensively with clinical and biological
researchers.

We are also seeking an individual for a challenging database
development position. This position is responsible for design and
implementation of database and data processing systems to support
clinical and bench science efforts in a web-based
environment. Designing databases to track human tissue samples,
databases for long-term patient follow-up, and deploying nationally
accessible biological data repositories all fall under the
responsibilities of this position. The systems must be optimized for
real-time content retrieval via user-friendly Web interfaces. This
position is for a senior developer able to take on a leadership role,
supervising and mentoring other developers.

Candidates for all of these positions must have excellent
communication skills, excellent work history and references, and the
ability to work both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary
team of scientists, including colleagues from biology, medicine,
chemistry, genetics, and other fields. We offer competitive salaries
and benefits. UC is an affirmative action and equal opportunity
employer.

ABOUT THE PLACE (see http://cc.ucsf.edu):
Housed within one of the nation's top biomedical research
universities, the UCSF Cancer Center brings together hundreds of
researchers and clinicians dedicated to four fundamental pursuits:
basic science research into the causes and events of cancer's
progression; clinical research to translate new knowledge into viable
treatments; sensitive, state-of-the-art patient care; and programs in
epidemiology, prevention, and cancer control. Basic scientists and
clinical health care providers work together toward the translation of
promising ideas into the creation of new and better treatments for
cancer patients everywhere.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH (see http://cc.ucsf.edu/jain): 
Cancer is a disease marked by accumulating genetic abnormalities,
ultimately resulting in malignancy. These abnormalities are evident in
the genomic DNA, messenger RNA, and in the expressed proteins of
cancer cells. Modern techniques for in vitro genomic and proteomic
analysis are generating data on a very large scale (up to 30,000 data
points per experiment). DNA microarrays, comparative genomic
hybridization, flourescent in situ hybridization, 2D gel
electrophoresis, and other techniques produce quantitative data that
contain information relevant to the biological state of cells.

These data offer an enormous opportunity for systematic computational
analyses to make an impact on both therapeutic target discovery as
well as in clinical decision-making. There is a pressing need for
computational methods to move beyond data visualization and toward
generating conclusions that are quantitatively supportable. Coupled
with data emerging from the Human Genome Project and modern
structure-based drug design techniques, there are significant
opportunities to advance cancer research and treatment.

Members of the growing Jain Lab are engaged in developing and applying
novel computational techniques for:

  1) Analyzing biological data gathered from human and animal tumors
     generated within the Center and with external collaborators.

  2) Relating DNA/protein sequences to protein function.

  3) Structure-based small-molecule drug design aimed at discovery or
     refinement of cancer therapeutics.

We are seeking energetic individuals to join in our research efforts.

ABOUT DR. AJAY N. JAIN: 
Dr. Jain received his PhD in 1991 from Carnegie Mellon University
working with Dr. Dave Touretzky and Dr. Alex Waibel. From 1992 through
mid-1999, he worked in a series of start-up biopharmaceutical
companies on computational methods for structure-based drug
design. Dr. Jain is Director of Informatics at the UCSF Cancer Center 
and holds faculty appointments in the Cancer Research Institute and
Dept. of Laboratory Medicine (see http://cc.ucsf.edu/people/jain_ajay.html).

TO APPLY:
Please send a full CV and letter describing your qualifications by
Fax, US Mail, or email (pdf, plain text, or MS Word). Email is the
preferred mode. Contact information follows.

____________________________________________________
Ajay N. Jain, PhD
Director of Informatics, UCSF Cancer Center
Box 0128, San Francisco, CA 94143-0128
Deliveries: 2340 Sutter St., Room S336, San Francisco
Tel: (415) 502-7242 Fax: (415) 476-8218
Email: ajain at cc.ucsf.edu
Web: http://cc.ucsf.edu/jain