News

Assistant , Associate, or Full Professor 

The Department of Biostatistics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is seeking candidates for multiple tenured/tenure-track faculty positions at the Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor level. The department invites applications from qualified individuals able to establish themselves as research leaders and demonstrate prowess in interdisciplinary collaborative scientific research. We are willing to consider researchers who can contribute to the development of methodology and its applications to biomedical research in various areas, but are especially interested in individuals in research areas relating to early detection and cancer screening, clinical trial design, imaging, computer-intensive methodology including machine learning, and integrative analyses of multi-platform high-dimensional data including genomic, proteomic, and microbiome data analysis. A Ph.D. in statistics, biostatistics or a related field is required. 

The Department of Biostatistics has 20 faculty members and 40 masters and doctoral level research analysts and more than 12 postdoctoral fellows. Faculty members are actively involved in collaborative and methodological research in such diverse areas as clinical trial design, cancer screening and early detection, bioinformatics, genomic pathway analysis, network analysis, integrative modeling of multiple types of complex data including high-dimensional omic data, functional data analysis, Bayesian methodology, longitudinal and survival analysis, statistical genetics, population health research, and behavioral/social statistics. Faculty collaborate with cancer scientists in all cancer areas and levels of cancer research from drug discovery, preclinical studies, population-based studies, and clinical trials. This research includes work with world-class researchers, including James Allison, the 2018 Nobel Prize winner for medicine, and involves large-scale studies and programs, including the Moon Shots program, that produce large and important cancer data sets requiring quantitative input and with translational impact potential. Faculty members also have opportunities in the affiliated biostatistics doctoral programs at the University of Texas, Texas A&M University, and Rice University. The department is supported by strong resources, which includes an active quantitative research computing team with specialties in database design, web-based clinical trial support, scientific programming, and software engineering. Information about the department and programs offered can be found at http://www3.mdanderson.org/depts/biostatistics/. Further questions regarding the position may be directed to one of the co-chairs on the selection committee: Jeffrey Morris (jefmorris@mdanderson.org), Yu Shen (yshen@mdanderson.org), or Ying Yuan (yyuan@mdanderson.org) with the subject line “faculty position 2019” in the email. 

MD Anderson Cancer Center offers competitive salaries and an outstanding personal and professional benefits package. Houston is one of the world’s most innovative and diverse cities, nurturing great neighborhoods, competitive private and public schools, an exceptional music and theater scene, highly acclaimed museums, international cuisine, and year-round outdoor recreational activities. 

MD Anderson Cancer Center is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability or veteran status, except where such distinction is required by law. All positions at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center are security sensitive and subject to examination of criminal history record information. MD Anderson Cancer Center is a smoke-free and drug-free environment. 

Consideration of applications will continue until the position is filled. Interested applicants should email (or mail) a cover letter outlining the relevance of their research experience and interests to the position description, a curriculum vitae, a brief statement of current and proposed research plan, and 3 letters of recommendation to: 

Faculty Search Committee
Department of Biostatistics
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
P.O. Box 301402
Houston, TX 77230-1402
Email: biostat-search@mdanderson.org

Successful candidates will join a team of biostatisticians working on a wide variety of collaborative projects in cancer research. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center supports and promotes professional growth and mentoring, as well as continuing education, creativity, and discovery. 

Responsibilities

Collaborate with clinicians and scientists to plan meaningful studies, statistically analyze and communicate/document the results:

• Assess relevant literature and existing data
• Perform simulations and complex statistical analyses using advanced statistical methods and programming
• Prepare statistical considerations for clinical trial designs or grant applications
• Perform biostatistical reviews of research protocols
• Collaborate on development of new statistical methodology
• Prepare written reports, including reports of data for committee and scientific meetings
• Collaborate with investigators on manuscripts
• Make original contributions to research projects
• Take initiative in professional activities
• If hired as or promoted to a senior position, participate in training and supervising junior statistical analysts

To be considered, send a letter of interest, curriculum vitae and three (3) letters of reference (include contact information for references) to dqs-stat-job@mdanderson.org

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master's degree in biostatistics, bioinformatics, statistics, computing, or related field
• Working knowledge of Windows and/or UNIX operating systems
• Experience in statistical programming and analysis
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
• Experience with mainframe and/or PC databases, document processing and statistical software such as SAS and S-Plus

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience writing reports and analytical sections of grant applications
• Extensive experience in statistical consulting, data analysis, design and management of clinical trials in the biomedical or cancer research setting

Salary: Competitive; commensurate with experience

EEO & Employment Eligibility

It is the policy of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to provide equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, veteran status, genetic information or any other basis protected by MD Anderson policy or by federal, state or local laws, unless such distinction is required by law. All positions at MD Anderson Cancer Center are security sensitive and subject to examination of criminal history record information. MD Anderson Cancer Center provides a smoke-free and drug-free environment.

Position with Jeffrey S. Morris, Ph.D.

Area: Computational statistics with applications in biostatistics and bioinformatics

Duties & Responsibilities: The research will involve developing novel statistical and computational methodology for the analysis of functional and imaging data, with a special focus on complex, high-dimensional functions and images.  One project of interest is Bayesian methods for LC/MS proteomic data, combining biological knowledge and functional data modeling techniques using fast approximate Bayesian computational procedures. Other application-driven methodological research may also be undertaken, with other application areas including event-related potentials (ERP), diffusion MRI methods such as DTI/MAP-MRI, functional data on the sphere and multivariate real-time time series from glaucoma studies, and various types of genomic data that can be modeled in an integrated fashion with corresponding clinical outcome data collected from large numbers of patients with colon cancer. The genomic data may include copy number alterations, methylation, miRNA, ncRNA, microarray, RNAseq, and proteomic data. We have a working group carrying out deep characterization of newly established molecular subtypes of colon cancer (Guinney et al. 2015, Nature Medicine), which  involves many potential projects in data integration that we hope will lead to new strategies in precision therapy.

Qualifications:  We seek a highly motivated individual with a Ph.D. in statistics/biostatistics or related quantitative fields. Must have strong methodologic training in statistics/biostatistics; strong programming skills, in particular R/Matlab, and possibly one lower-level computer language such as C or Fortran; and interest in statistical  methodology research.  Interest or background in neuroimaging, bioinformatics, genomics, or proteomics is a plus.  Expertise or skills in any of the following areas is desirable:  analysis of high-dimensional data, Bayesian MCMC computations, approximate Bayesian computational methods, variable selection and sparsity priors, linear models, nonparametric regression, spatio-temporal data, multivariate techniques, functional data analysis, and image data analysis. 

Application: Send a cover letter, CV, and research statement (with three references and their contact information) to:

pcunning@mdanderson.org
and
jefmorris@mdanderson.org
Subject line: Morris postdoc

Application deadline: Consideration of applications will begin immediately, and continue until the positions are filled.

Salary: $65,000 USD/year

EEO & Employment Eligibility: It is the policy of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to provide equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, veteran status, genetic information or any other basis protected by MD Anderson policy or by federal, state or local laws, unless such discrimination is required by law. All positions at MD Anderson Cancer Center are security sensitive and subject to examination of criminal history record information. MD Anderson Cancer Center provides a smoke-free and drug-free environment.