Postdoctoral Position in Childhood Cancer Research

Postdoctoral position

Application deadline: 20 Aug 2026

Institute: University College Dublin
Country: Ireland
More information: https://www.ucd.ie/workatucd/jobs/ and search for Ref # 019911

University College Dublin (UCD) invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join the Halasz Lab at Systems Biology Ireland (SBI). The position is part of Precision Oncology Ireland (POI), a national research programme co-funded by Research Ireland and the Children's Health Foundation.
The successful candidate will contribute to an interdisciplinary research programme focused on neuroblastoma, one of the most aggressive childhood cancers. The project aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms by which MYCN drives tumour progression and treatment resistance, with the goal of identifying more effective and less toxic therapeutic strategies for children with high-risk disease. Promising drug combinations will be evaluated using preclinical zebrafish xenograft models.
In parallel, the project will investigate whether blood-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) can serve as minimally invasive biomarkers to monitor tumour cell states and treatment responses during therapy.
The successful candidate will join the Halasz Lab at Systems Biology Ireland (https://www.ucd.ie/sbi/) and work closely with computational biologists at SBI and paediatric oncologists at Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin, providing an outstanding multidisciplinary research environment. The postdoctoral fellow will also have the opportunity to gain experience in supervising and mentoring a PhD student.
As this is a highly collaborative project, the successful candidate should enjoy working in multidisciplinary teams while also demonstrating the ability to independently design, execute, analyse, and interpret experiments. Strong organisational, communication, and scientific writing skills are essential.

About the Precision Oncology Ireland Programme
Precision Oncology Ireland (POI; https://www.precisiononcology.ie/) is a pioneering Irish consortium that brings together Irish universities, cancer charities, industry partners and healthcare providers to advance personalised cancer treatment. Coordinated by Systems Biology Ireland at UCD, POI leverages systems biology approaches to analyse complex molecular data and understand cancer at a deeper level. By integrating multiomics data, imaging, and clinical data through computational modelling, the consortium aims to tailor therapies to individual patients' tumour profiles. POI is working to improve diagnostics, reduce unnecessary treatments, and accelerate the development of targeted cancer therapies.

Fixed Salary: €47,273 per annum

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