Postdoctoral Research Associate

A global higher education leader in innovative teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consistently ranks as one of the nation's top public universities and is among is the top ten research universities in the nation for federal research expenditures as well as for federally funded social and behavioral sciences research and development.

Here at Carolina, our highly skilled postdocs play a vital role in our research enterprise and towards our overall commitment to research excellence. Across many disciplines, postdocs contribute to the intellectual vitality of the University. They provide innovative ideas and perspectives, foster a stimulating research environment and advance knowledge within their fields. Postdocs are crucial members of our scientific research workforce, contributors to our research outputs and an important reason why Carolina is one of the leading public research institutions in the country.

UNC-Chapel Hill offers postdocs comprehensive medical and vision coverage, paid leave, and benefits and services that support professional development and a healthy work/life balance. Chapel Hill regularly ranks as one of the best college towns and best places to live in the United States, a reputation guided by the diverse social, cultural, recreation and professional opportunities that span the campus and community.

In 2022, UNC Chapel Hill launched the School of Data Science and Society ( SDSS), a new school devoted to data science teaching, research, scholarship, service, and creativity. The SDSS vision is to be a leader in shaping the field of data science through an interdisciplinary and rigorous grounding in theory and methods with a human centric approach to the entire data life cycle.

The mission of SDSS is to empower a diverse community of faculty conducting research in the fundamentals and/or the applications of data science. The school is training undergraduate, graduate, and professional students to be the next generation of data science leaders with the knowledge and skills to thrive in this data-driven world. The SDSS will serve the state, the nation, and the world through premier data science educational programs and innovative research directed to advancing the public good with human-centric and ethical applications.

The core elements of the SDSS include porous borders - leveraging our low-walled collaborative Carolina culture to solve major societal problems. Interdisciplinary research clusters that cross disciplines and school boundaries are a vital element of the school. The SDSS is focused on students and education - the emphasis is not just on data science majors but on all students becoming data literate. The school's culture has an open and transparent structure, governance, and business model.

Dr. Jun Li's lab (https://jlilab.org) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is recruiting postdoctoral researchers to join his interdisciplinary team. The lab focuses on integrative cancer omics, functional proteomics, and AI-driven bioinformatics tool development, with the overarching goal of advancing cancer treatment through data-driven translational research. Our work bridges data science and oncology by pursuing two main directions: (1) leveraging clinical and multi-omics data to generate hypotheses, uncover novel cancer vulnerabilities, and optimize therapeutic strategies, and (2) developing AI-powered analytical platforms to support patient-centered biomedical research. Current projects involve building computational frameworks for multi-omics integration, modeling cancer vulnerabilities, designing tools for data interpretation and visualization, and/or training foundation models and large language models (LLMs) for diverse biomedical applications. Dr. Li has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles with more than 53,000 citations (H-index: 56), including first-author papers in Cancer Cell, Nature Cancer, Nature Methods, Nature Communications, and Science Advances, reflecting the lab's strong track record in high-impact cancer research. This position offers a dynamic and collaborative environment with ample opportunities for high-impact research, technical innovation, and professional growth.

A Ph.D. in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Cancer Biology, or a related field.

- Proficiency in programming (e.g., Python, R, or similar).
- Experience with large-scale omics data analysis.
- Excellent communication skills.

- Solid understanding of cancer biology and omics technologies (e.g., genomics, proteomics, and/or metabolomics).
- Strong publication record in relevant fields.
- Proven ability to develop bioinformatics tools or AI/ML models.
- Experience in integrating multi-omics data from tumors and preclinical models.
- Familiarity with training or fine-tuning large-scale models (e.g., LLMs, foundation models, etc.).

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If you experience any problems accessing the system or have questions about the application process, please contact the University's Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at (919) 962-9982 or send an email to opahr@unc.edu.

Please note: The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs will not be able to provide specific updates regarding position or application status.

The University is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all to apply without regard to age, color, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.