Job Description

School of Medicine Established in 1930, Duke University School of Medicine is the youngest of the nation's top medical schools. Ranked sixth among medical schools in the nation, the School takes pride in being an inclusive community of outstanding learners, investigators, clinicians, and staff where interdisciplinary collaboration is embraced and great ideas accelerate translation of fundamental scientific discoveries to improve human health locally and around the globe. Composed of more than 2,600 faculty physicians and researchers, nearly 2,000 students, and more than 6,200 staff, the Duke University School of Medicine along with the Duke University School of Nursing, and Duke University Health System comprise Duke Health, a world-class academic medical center. The Health System encompasses Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, Duke Raleigh Hospital, Duke Health Integrated Practice, Duke Primary Care, Duke Home Care and Hospice, Duke Health and Wellness, and multiple affiliations.

Be You.

The BRIDGE Lab (Breast Cancer Research in Genomics and Epigenomics) in the Division of Surgical Oncology at Duke University is seeking a highly motivated Research Scientist to help lead a translational breast cancer research program focused on breast cancer progression, therapeutic resistance, immune evasion, biomarker development, and treatment response

This position is intended for a candidate with postdoctoral or equivalent research experience who can develop and lead projects, supervise trainees, contribute to grant applications and manuscripts, and work closely with the Principal Investigator to advance the laboratory’s research program. The successful candidate will help translate clinical breast cancer questions into testable research hypotheses, integrate clinical and molecular datasets, coordinate collaborative studies, and contribute to the development of fundable and publishable research directions.

Candidates with expertise in breast cancer biology, translational oncology, genomics, epigenomics, tumor immunology, biomarker development, therapeutic resistance, computational biology, or related areas are encouraged to apply. Experience with scientific writing, grant development, manuscript preparation, and multidisciplinary team science is strongly preferred.

Minimum Requirements:

• A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Cancer Biology, Cell Biology, Immunology, Genetics/Genomics, or a closely related scientific field is required.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Postdoctoral research experience in cancer biology, translational oncology, genomics, epigenomics, tumor immunology, therapeutic resistance, biomarker development, or a related area.
• Demonstrated record of scientific productivity, including first-author and corresponding-author publications in peer-reviewed journals.
• Experience developing research questions, designing studies, interpreting complex data, and preparing manuscripts.
• Experience contributing to grant applications, scientific reports, abstracts, or other research documents.
• Demonstrated track record of securing competitive research funding, with at least one funded grants, fellowships, career development awards, foundation awards, institutional pilot awards, or equivalent mechanisms.
• Ability to work independently while coordinating collaborative, multidisciplinary projects.
• Experience mentoring or supervising junior scientists, postdoctoral fellows, students, or research staff is preferred.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in breast cancer biology, especially triple-negative breast cancer, hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, HER2-associated biology, therapeutic resistance, or tumor-immune interactions.
• Experience with genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, single-cell analysis, or biomarker development.
• Experience analyzing or coordinating studies involving human cohorts, clinical annotation, treatment response, survival outcomes, or patient-derived molecular datasets.
• Experience with statistical modeling, R, Python, bioinformatics workflows, or collaboration with computational teams.
• Experience with NIH, DOD, foundation, or institutional grant mechanisms.
• Interest in developing an independent research trajectory within a translational breast cancer research environment.

Other Requirements:

This position is onsite. The work is performed on-site or at a designated assignment location.

The ideal candidate is a scientifically independent and collaborative investigator who can help bridge clinical breast cancer questions with molecular, computational, and functional research. This person should be able to think strategically, write clearly, supervise projects, interpret complex data, and contribute to the development of fundable and publishable research programs.

This position is particularly well-suited for a senior postdoctoral fellow or research scientist seeking to transition toward a more independent investigator role within an academic translational oncology program.

Application Materials

Interested applicants should submit a CV, a brief cover letter describing research interests and career goals, and contact information for three references.

Be Bold.

The candidate will work closely with lab members including postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, research technicians, and is expected to independently perform daily activities which include, but may not be limited to:

• Lead translational research projects focused on breast cancer progression, therapeutic resistance, immune evasion, and treatment response.
• Work closely with the Principal Investigator to define scientific priorities, develop project concepts, and translate clinical questions into testable research hypotheses.
• Supervise and coordinate the work of postdoctoral fellows, students, research staff, and collaborators across experimental, computational, and clinical research activities.
• Contribute to the preparation of grant applications, progress reports, manuscripts, abstracts, presentations, and scientific reports.
• Design and oversee studies integrating patient-derived clinical data with genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, immunologic, pathologic, and functional datasets.
• Develop and implement biomarker strategies for patient stratification, treatment response prediction, and mechanistic interpretation.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary collaborations with clinicians, pathologists, immunologists, computational biologists, statisticians, and external collaborators.
• Analyze, interpret, and synthesize complex molecular and clinical datasets to generate biologically grounded and clinically relevant conclusions.
• Provide scientific oversight for experimental studies using breast cancer models, including engineered cell systems, therapeutic perturbation studies, immune co-culture assays, patient-derived models, or other translational platforms.
• Ensure rigorous experimental design, appropriate controls, statistical analysis, reproducibility, and high-quality data interpretation across projects.
• Mentor trainees in experimental design, data analysis, scientific writing, grant preparation, and presentation of research findings.
• Help develop new research directions aligned with the laboratory’s mission and emerging funding opportunities.
• Present research findings at institutional, national, and international meetings.
• Contribute to a collaborative, intellectually rigorous, and productive laboratory environment.

Choose Duke.

Join our award-winning team and be part of an inclusive culture that is committed to providing outstanding patient care, training tomorrow’s leaders, and conducting innovative research. You'll also benefit from Duke's competitive benefits package, including health insurance plans, generous paid time off, retirement programs with employer contributions, tuition assistance for employees and their children, and more.