Early Career or Mid-Career Principal Investigator

About OICR

 

OICR is Ontario’s cancer research institute. We bring together people from across the province and around the world to improve the lives of everyone affected by cancer. We take on the biggest challenges in cancer research and deliver real-world solutions to find cancer earlier and treat it more effectively. We are committed to helping people living with cancer, as well as future generations, live longer and healthier lives.

 

Launched in December 2005, OICR is an independent institute funded by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security.

 

Position Details

 

Position: Early Career to Mid-Career Principal Investigator

Location: MaRS Centre, Toronto

Department: Computational Biology

Reports To: Scientific Director, Computational Biology

Hiring Range: Early Career $144,000 to $181,000 per annum

Mid-Career $177,000 to $221,000 per annum

Commensurate with experience; total compensation includes a competitive benefits plan, plus a defined benefit pension plan (HOOPP) 
Hours: 35 hours/week

Job Type: Hybrid

Status: Full-time, Permanent

 

Position Summary

 

The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) is looking to fill an existing vacancy for an Early Career or Mid-Career Principal Investigator (PI) in Computational Biology to undertake world-class cancer research. We welcome applications from individuals at all career stages, including those wishing to establish their first research lab. The Computational Biology Program develops and applies data analysis approaches to advance OICR’s strategic priority on early cancer detection and interception. We seek to strengthen and expand our existing expertise in cancer genomics, statistical genetics, next-generation sequence analysis, biological knowledge bases and pathway/network analysis. We are particularly interested in, but not limited to, research that complements these areas, including applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning (e.g. for digital histopathology, genomic variant effect prediction, drug target identification or the accurate prediction of genetic and chemical perturbations of biological pathways), and modelling and interpreting cancer evolution.

 

The PI will be expected to mentor trainees, to build collaborations both within and outside the OICR community, and to work with  FACIT , OICR's commercialization partner, to translate research findings into real-world products and services. In addition to base funds provided by the Institute to support the PI's salary and core personnel, the PI is expected to raise additional research funds from external competitive granting agencies. OICR will assist the PI in obtaining a faculty appointment at the University of Toronto or another affiliated academic institution.

 

Housed within OICR's Adaptive Oncology theme, the Computational Biology Program provides a robust intellectual environment with multiple investigators working with technologies ranging from spatial 'omics to large language models of clinical records. An institutional cluster comprising ~9,000 CPU threads, and 18 GPU servers with a total of 36 NVIDIA CUDA cards as well as a large OpenStack virtualization environment, is available to support analysis by members of the Program. In addition, extensive compute resources, including large GPU clusters, are available to OICR faculty via Canada's Digital Research Alliance.

 

OICR is a multi-disciplinary, team-science-driven translational research institute with PIs working in the areas of medical imaging instrumentation, robotics, drug design and development, biomarker discovery and assay development, spatial biology, and genomics. In addition to the facilities provided by the Computational Biology Program, the candidate will have access to a series of technology platforms for large-scale molecular data generation ranging from whole genome sequencing of challenging clinical specimens, to spatial transcriptomics and proteomics, cell-free DNA analysis, long-read sequencing, and digital histopathology. OICR develops and hosts multiple biobanks comprising hundreds of thousands of tissue and blood specimens, including the Ontario Health Study and the Ontario Tumour Bank . In addition, OICR develops and operates multiple data-rich biological databases including the international ICGC-ARGO Cancer Genome data platform, the Ontario Hereditary Cancer Research Network , and the Ontario node of the TFRI Marathon of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Centre Network . We are the host institution for the Global Alliance for Genomics in Health and a co-developer of the Pan-Canadian Genome Library . Finally, we believe in open-source and community development and are a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).

 

Please visit for details on our research portfolio.

For more information about OICR, please visit the website at .

To learn more about working at OICR, visit our career page .

 

Position Requirements

• A PhD or MD with a proven track record in computational biology, bioinformatics, or biostatistics


• International recognition and a strong publication record of relevance, proven leadership and management experience including the building of strong research teams, as well as a strong record of grant-funding and mentorship


• Excellent communication and presentation skills

 

Please attach the following to your application:

• A covering letter, including the names of three potential referees


• A complete academic CV


• A two to four page proposed research document, including a section highlighting relevance of the proposed studies to cancer

POSTED DATE: May 5, 2026

CLOSING DATE: July 31, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.

OICR is committed to fostering a climate of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. This commitment is central to, and mutually supportive of, our research excellence mandate. We welcome and respect the diversity of all members of our community and we support an inclusive culture for all. We welcome all applicants, and encourage applications from racialized persons, Indigenous Peoples, women, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S persons, and others who may contribute to furthering a diversity of ideas within our community. OICR is committed to fair assessment of a candidate’s abilities, and consideration for diversity of thought, method, and experience. Providing an accessible workplace and recruitment process is important to us, as described in our Accessibility Plan (). Should you require accommodation during any stage in the recruitment process, please complete the form at the bottom of page . Information received related to accommodation will be handled confidentially.

 

OICR hiring managers may use approved Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to assist with an initial screening or assessment of applications, and selection of applicants in accordance with OICR’s privacy policies. Personal information associated with any job application will not be shared with or retained by any third party for the purpose of training an AI model. Hiring managers shall determine which applications proceed through the recruitment process.

Resume Format : If you elect to apply, please click on the “Apply for this Job” button. You will be required to enter contact details, and to attach your resume to your application. Please attach your resume as a .pdf or .doc file.

 

The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research thanks all applicants. However, only those under consideration will be contacted.