Job Description

This position is a component of the University of Tennessee – Oak Ridge Innovation Institute’s (UT-ORII) Development and Advancement of Radiopharmaceutical Therapies (DART) Convergent Research Initiative (CRI) residing at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) in Memphis with regular collaborations and visits to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The position’s faculty appointment will be with UT-ORII at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

This position will be part of the DART team, which will include ~20 members who will develop novel alpha-emitting radionuclides that are targeted to tumor cells. The position will work in close collaboration with member investigators at UTHSC, ORNL, and UTK to address the molecular mechanisms of Cancer Stem-Like Cells (CSLC) against alpha particle radiation as well as tackle exciting challenges at the scientific frontier of cancer genomics. The primary focus of this new hire research faculty is to implement in vitro and in vivo models of novel targeted theranostics in collaboration with DART research projects. The applicant will be responsible for, proposal preparation, submission, and student mentoring at the graduate level. Four anchor investigators of the project will provide mentoring and necessary infrastructure to the hire. Applicants will be considered at all faculty ranks.

Responsibilities

Mentor and train graduate students.
Develop and lead research studies to understand the development of radiation cell killing and resistance of hard-to-treat cancers such as neuroendocrine tumors, ovarian cancer, glioblastoma etc., using patent-derived explant cell cultures, and tumorspheres.
Develop preclinical murine models of hard-to-treat cancers to examine the efficacy of novel alpha-particle isotopes coupled via a chelator complex to a targeting antibody and/or nanoparticle conjugates.
Explore the therapeutic benefits of targeted alpha-particle therapy in combination with chemotherapy or immunotherapy.
Develop a strong collaboration with the members of this CRI and investigators at the UTHSC Center for Cancer Research, cancer researchers at UTK Cancer Institute, and ORNL.
Develop applications for extramural funding.
Prepare manuscripts and present research at relevant conferences, including not limited to: cancer genomics, bioinformatics, and the CRI and UT-ORII meetings.
Basic Qualifications:

PhD in molecular biology, radiation biology, biochemistry, or a related field.
Documented experience by publications related to cancer radiation therapy and resistance to it.
Strong experience building, tailoring, and deploying radiopharmacological analysis pipelines using widely available genomic analysis toolkits as well as experience managing large numbers of datasets.
Strong communication skills and an ability to collaborate with other researchers and advise graduate students.
Track record of relevant peer-reviewed publications
This position requires the ability to be granted a site-access badge for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Departmental Preferences:

Prior experience in large-scale, multidisciplinary research projects in cancer biology.
Track record in developing strong proposals and securing funding.
A clear path to independence as a researcher is desired, though an ‘on-ramp’ through collaboration with more senior investigators is also encouraged.
Application Instructions

Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

Applications must include:

a letter of interest
a comprehensive curriculum vitae
a research plan
a list of contact information for at least three professional references.