Postdoctoral Scientist in Spatial and Single-Cell Multi-Omics

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more at https://www.jnj.com

Job Function:

Career Programs

Job Sub Function:

Post Doc – Drug Discovery & Pre-Clinical/Clinical Development

Job Category:

Career Program

All Job Posting Locations:

Beerse, Antwerp, Belgium

Job Description:

Position Summary:

At J&J Innovative Medicine, we stand at the forefront of healthcare innovation, and we are looking for a talented postdoctoral scientist in spatial and single-cell multi-omics with substantial expertise in oncology for a 3-year VLAIO funded project. As a pivotal member of our dynamic and collaborative team, you will play a critical role in identifying novel therapeutic drug targets for lung cancer by generating and mining multi-omics datasets. The ideal candidate excels in processing patient-derived samples for spatial omics and transforming high-dimensional data into quantitative, analysis-ready insights that guide target validation strategies and drug discovery decisions. You will collaborate with experts in oncology drug discovery, data science, and molecular pathology, taking responsibility for translating complex data into actionable insights. A strong sense of urgency, excellent organizational skills, and problem-solving skills aimed at integrating various data modalities to derive biological insights are essential. This position offers a unique opportunity to enhance your skills in drug discovery while advancing the understanding of tumor biology. Be part of a passionate team, committed to uncovering new treatments and making a real impact in the lives of patients. 

Primary responsibilities (including, but are not limited to):

• Hands-on experience in handling and processing tissue samples for spatial transcriptomics is a must
• Analyze and integrate high-dimensional omics data from various platforms, including single-cell sequencing (both short and long read sequencing), spatial transcriptomics and spatial proteomics (e.g. MILAN technology) to translate quantitative data into biological knowledge and evidence
• Act as an expert resource in drug target identification, proposing novel and actionable target ideas aligned with internal strategy and capability, based on both data analytics and current understanding in tumor biology
• Effectively communicate research findings to both internal collaborators and external stakeholders through comprehensive project reports, engaging oral presentations 
• Background knowledge in cancer biology, tumor microenvironment and immunology is desirable 

Education, Experience, and Special Skills:

• Education: Ph.D. degree in Biology, Biochemistry, Immunology, Bioinformatics or Data science, Computational biology, Engineering or related field

• Related Experience:
  • Hands-on experience with spatial omics (Visium HD and Xenium) is a must
  • Demonstrate in depth single-cell and spatial analytics expertise is a strong plus
  • Proficiency in R and Python, and/or other programming languages
  • Knowledge of machine learning algorithms and statistical modeling and techniques
  • Experience with data visualization, feature development, large language models, generative methods, is preferred
  • Experience working within Amazon Web Services (AWS) is preferred

• Personal skills and Competencies:

• Intellectually curious and well-informed on the latest scientific advances in the field
• Demonstrates creativity and novel approaches to solving scientific problems independently and collaboratively
• Strong organizational skills including the ability to manage several experiments simultaneously
• Detail-oriented, with excellent record-keeping skills
• Excellent oral, written and interpersonal communication skills. Able to effectively present scientific data and concepts to international standards - English
• Quick learner, motivated self-starter, and team player