National Cancer Institute – Postdoctoral Fellow in Statistical Genetics, Genomics and Multi-Omic Integration
Company NameNational Cancer Institute
Position TitlePostdoctoral Fellow in Statistical Genetics, Genomics and Multi-Omic Integration
Company Information
The Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG) is a research program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). DCEG is a world-renowned research program focused on discovering the genetic and environmental determinants of cancer and developing new approaches to cancer prevention. Our research informs public health policy in the United States and around the world. To learn more about our mission and work, please visit our website (http://dceg.cancer.gov/about/dceg-mission).
The postdoctoral fellow will join the Biostatistics Branch at DCEG and work with Dr. Haoyu Zhang’s group, which develops next-generation statistical methods and software to translate biobank-scale genomic and multi-omic data into actionable insights for precision oncology. The group collaborates with large international consortia and biobank efforts, including the Confluence project (an NCI-initiated effort with more than 300,000 breast cancer cases and 300,000 controls worldwide), the International Lung Cancer Consortium (ILCCO), and pancreatic cancer consortia. The group also has extensive experience working with large-scale biobanks, including UK Biobank and All of Us.
Faculty page: https://dceg.cancer.gov/about/staff-directory/zhang-haoyu
Recent publications from the group: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=B2cTx6MAAAAJ&hl=en
Duties and Responsibilities
The postdoctoral research fellow will develop rigorous, scalable statistical methods and computational tools for large-scale genetic and multi-omic studies, with a focus on improving discovery, prediction, and causal inference across diverse global populations. Potential areas of work include:
• Method development for multi-ancestry genome-wide association studies, including models that incorporate multivariate tumor characteristics and germline-disease associations for improved association testing.
• Polygenic risk scores and integrative prediction frameworks that combine germline genetics with multi-omics to improve accuracy across ancestries.
• Mendelian randomization, mediation, and integrative multi-omic approaches to identify causal biomarkers and prioritize potential therapeutic targets.
• High-performance, user-friendly software development for statistical genetics, with an emphasis on scalable computation and FAIR-aligned research software practices.
The fellow will have opportunities to lead high-impact publications, collaborate with multidisciplinary teams of epidemiologists and biostatisticians, and pursue independent methodological and applied research directions with close mentorship tailored to career goals.
Position Qualifications
The ideal candidate for this position will have a Ph.D. in statistics, biostatistics, bioinformatics, computer science, or a related field. Strong knowledge of statistical theory and excellent programming skills are required.
Salary Range$67,200-$94,150
Benefits
NCI offers salary and benefits according to the NIH postdoctoral pay scale, along with professional development and training resources. See https://www.training.nih.gov/research-training/pd/ for more information about stipend, other compensation and NIH eligibility criteria.
Position or Company Websitecancer.gov
Application Instructions
Interested applicants should send a CV, a short research statement, and the names of three references to Haoyu Zhang at haoyu.zhang2@nih.gov. The review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.