Senior Research Officer

Marina Pajic heads an innovative multidisciplinary personalised medicine for pancreatic cancer research program. Her research builds on and goes beyond our knowledge of the genetics of cancer, to better understand how the surrounding tumour environment controls and drives the aggressive nature of this disease, metastasis of the cancer, and resistance to treatment. With this new insight, her team is developing novel, tailored therapeutic interventions, whereby cancers are selected for optimal treatment based on their overall molecular "fingerprint". Her lab studies human disease using advanced molecular and cellular biology, immunology & imaging methodologies. With close clinical collaborators, we are translating the most promising treatment strategies into clinical trials.

THE OPPORTUNITY

This is an opportunity not only to join Garvan but to join Snow Medical laboratories. The Senior Research Officer (Level 3-6) is accountable for conducting research independently within a laboratory, with strategic guidance and oversight from the Laboratory Head. They should be working towards achieving funding to support their research projects.

Salary: Up to $129,200 + 14% super + salary packaging (depending on experience)

Employment Type: 3 year term contract with potential to extend

SNAPSHOT OF BENEFITS

• Generous salary packaging to save you income tax on your wages thereby boosting your monthly take home pay (max. $15,900 general expenses + $2,650 meals/accom)
• Ample opportunities for on-going training and development
• Stimulating, diverse and highly international research environment
• Flexible work arrangements e.g. start / finish times
• 18 weeks paid parental leave for both parents including paid superannuation
• A range of additional leave types to meet your personal needs including cultural leave, conference leave, community service and study leave
• Discounted Health Insurance
• Lifestyle discounts with our community partners

WHAT YOU WILL DO

The Senior Research Officer will be making significant contributions in the following areas accompanied by an increasing level of performance within the criteria for progression from SRO3 to SRO6.

• Successful leadership of research projects resulting in first or senior authorship of published articles in leading journals, books, conference papers / reports and other research publications
• Contribution to productive research outcomes in team and collaborative projects resulting in mid-authorships on scientific publications
• National and international recognition by invited seminar presentations and oral/poster presentations at leading national and international meetings
• Role as a named Investigator on successful research proposal submissions to external funding bodies, demonstrating success in attracting competitive fellowships
• Team effort
• Supervision and mentoring of research students and junior research staff to support beneficial outcomes for the lab's research, and creating a path to independence
• Contribute to research projects other than his/her own and to the development of new collaborations to maximise the opportunities for the cross-fertilisation of ideas, techniques and complex research problem-solving
• Working closely with our consumers to ensure the relevance of our patient-centric approach to research
• Administrative functions to assist efficient day-to-day operations of the research lab and facilities

Institute Contributions

• Contribution to Garvan's organisation and management through membership of committees, participation in training and mentoring programs and other activities to promote a culture of research excellence and collegiality
• Interact productively (where appropriate) within and across Platforms / Centres, lead constructive discussion at Garvan's seminars and be seen as a person whom junior staff can approach for technical advice
• Promotion of research links with external partners
• Involvement in professional service through active participation in scientific societies
• Participation in Garvan promotion and fund-raising events, including community talks and Garvan public tours

ABOUT YOU

The key skills and experience of a Senior Research Officer include:

• PhD in relevant field such as cancer cell biology and/or immunology and a minimum of 4 years post-doctoral experience
• Demonstrate a significant record of scientific achievement with a strong first-author and emerging senior/co-senior author track record of scientific publications in high quality peer-reviewed journals
• Demonstrate a high level of research independence and innovation, evidenced by competitive fellowships, grants
• Established expertise in a wide range of molecular, cell biology techniques, including single cell and spatial methodologies, cancer models and ability to rapidly learn new techniques
• Strong problem solving, analytical skills, and strategic thinking
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work well and flexibly with a wide range of varying stakeholders
• Experience leading and managing teams (desirable)
• Strong leadership and mentoring skills (desirable)

ABOUT GARVAN

The Garvan Institute of Medical Research is an independent Medical Research Institute (MRI) in Sydney, delivering scientific and clinical impact on a global basis and in partnership with organisations that share our vision. We are proud to be one of Australia's largest and most highly regarded MRI's.

Our vision is global leadership in discoveries to impact and our enduring purpose is to impact human health, by harnessing information encoded in our genome.

We seek to see our world-class discovery research achieve life-changing impacts, not only for individual patients with rare diseases, but for the many thousands affected by complex, common disease.

Garvan promotes a diverse workplace and is committed to the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. We are always looking for culture 'add', not culture 'fit' and are building diverse teams with great sets of complementary styles and skills to help deliver our important work effectively.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply for this position, please submit your resume and application form. If you cannot access the application form please reach out to Iana Ramos at i.ramos@garvan.org.au. The application form will need to be filled out and submitted. We'd love to hear how your capabilities, achievements and experience set you apart.