Postdoctoral Fellow, Biological Systems Modeling

Calico is seeking an expert in biological systems modeling to join our multidisciplinary team of translational data scientists to expand our ability to quantitatively predict the behavior of biochemical networks at the single-cell, tissue, and patient level. This brand-new role has the potential to accelerate both the basic science and drug development pipelines at Calico, and to have a practical impact on the development of therapies for age-related disease.

At Calico we’re generating terabytes of data to support our translational efforts, from multi-omic single cell measurements to image-based data sets. This role will seek to build complex computational models (such as QSP models, multi-scale models, and others) that help unify the diverse data streams and generate testable new insights. Crucially, this postdoc will be expected to partner with our discovery and translational teams to iteratively build these models, extracting key insights that will further our understanding of aging. Our ideal candidate is someone who sees themselves as team-oriented and thrives when given space to innovate. In addition to ample opportunities for ownership and publication, this role will have the support of a multidisciplinary team that includes engineers, physicists, biochemists, biologists, machine learning experts, software engineers, and data analysts.

Responsibilities: 

• Develop and iterate on complex mathematical models of biological/physiological systems
• Work with pre-clinical or human physiology/disease progression datasets
• Build and apply Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP) models to support our basic science & drug development pipelines
• Communicate research results through conference presentations, scientific publications, or project reports
• Collaborate with scientists on experimental designs to best position downstream analyses
• Stay up-to-date on cutting-edge technology and developing new analysis methods based on demand

Position requirements:

• PhD in computer science, mathematics, biology, or related discipline
• Proficiency with systems modeling approaches such as ordinary/partial differential equations, stochastic, agent-based, and/or other advanced mechanistic modeling approaches
• Familiarity or experience with QSP or other translationally-relevant mathematical modeling techniques a plus
• Experience with relevant software or programming languages (e.g., Python, Simbiology, MATLAB, R, or C)
• Excellent understanding of statistical aspects of mathematical modeling, including for example numerical methods, parameter optimization/estimation, uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis.
• Values scientific discovery and has an unquenchable curiosity
• Possessing basic biology background sufficient to guide and inform analysis approaches
• Knows when to apply off-the-shelf solutions versus develop cutting-edge methods
• Track record of outstanding communication and collaboration in a cross-functional environment

Calico Postdoctoral Fellowship Program:

Calico’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program pairs recent PhD graduates with internal expertise to conduct fundamental and innovative research and investigate meaningful scientific questions aligned with our mission to understand the biology of human aging and develop interventions for age-related diseases. Postdoctoral Fellows at Calico receive mentorship and support to develop independent research programs to enable the next stage of their careers. In addition to direct mentorship from their host laboratories, Postdoctoral Fellows benefit from collaboration with diverse scientists across Calico’s Research and Technology groups and are encouraged and supported to communicate their findings through high-impact, peer-reviewed scientific journals and conferences.

Program Features:

• Fully integrated into Calico’s labs and community, Postdoctoral Fellows pursue new research directions with devoted resources for innovative and potentially high-risk research and bring new personalities, ideas, technology and perspectives to Calico.

• Calico’s program is a fixed-term educational assignment for individuals who have recently completed their PhD degrees, have had a meaningful first author paper accepted for publication, and have made important contributions to science in their area.
• While postdocs will focus on their own project(s), mutually agreed to in principle and prior to making the decision to join the mentor’s lab, the expectation is that they all contribute to furthering our understanding of aging and age-related diseases.
• Postdoc assignments are up to four years in length. It is expected that the postdoc will receive regular feedback and guidance from their mentor in addition to participating in a more formal annual review process to discuss project progress, individual performance, and career coaching.
• Our postdoc projects are expected to yield work that can be submitted for publication in a timely fashion upon completion and are intended to train people to become independent investigators in an academic or industry setting upon successful completion of the assignment.
• Calico postdocs join a community of other Postdoctoral Fellows who regularly engage with members of Calico’s scientific community, including senior leadership, through a variety of professional and career development opportunities.