AI Research Scientist

Mission: To reduce the state cancer burden for all Virginians by addressing the confluence between biological, social, and policy drivers through high-impact, cutting-edge research; person-centered care across the continuum, from prevention through survivorship; community integration; and training the next generation of community-centric researchers and healthcare professionals

Vision: To be a premier community-focused cancer center leading the nation in cancer health equity research and ensuring optimal health outcomes for all

We are the university for Virginia. We know that the unique backgrounds and life experiences of the VCU community are what drive the university forward. Together, we’re forging a future that is built by us. Here, artists and engineers, doctors and designers come together to reimagine the human experience and tackle the problems of tomorrow.

VCU dates to 1838 with the formation of the Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College, whose mission was to educate physicians in central Virginia and which was later renamed Medical College of Virginia. In 1968, Richmond Professional Institute merged with the Medical College of Virginia to become what is now known as Virginia Commonwealth University.

The Bioinformatics Shared Resource at Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center is seeking a highly motivated AI Research Scientist to strengthen the cancer center's capabilities in artificial intelligence and to accelerate the use of AI across cancer research.

The successful candidate will work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, and software engineering to develop, adapt, fine-tune, and deploy machine learning, deep learning, large language models, and biomedical foundation models for cancer-focused applications. The position will support research spanning cancer genomics, single-cell and spatial biology, multi-omics, tumor microenvironment studies, digital pathology, and precision oncology.

As a core member of the Bioinformatics Shared Resource, the scientist will work closely with basic, translational, and clinical investigators to translate cancer research questions into scalable, reproducible AI-enabled computational solutions. The position will also help build the infrastructure and expertise needed to advance Massey's Data to Discovery pillar.

• →Develop, adapt, and evaluate machine learning and deep learning approaches for cancer genomic, transcriptomic, single-cell, spatial omics, imaging, and other high-dimensional datasets.
• →Fine-tune, evaluate, and deploy large language models and biomedical foundation models for cancer research applications, including data interpretation, knowledge integration, and scientific workflow support.
• →Develop AI agents and language model-based systems to support cancer bioinformatics analysis, research navigation, workflow automation, and scientific decision-making.
• →Build full-stack applications integrating AI models, bioinformatics workflows, databases, visualization tools, APIs, and user-facing interfaces.
• →Deploy and optimize AI models and computational workflows on institutional high-performance computing clusters and cloud platforms, and develop scalable training, inference, model-serving, and data-processing pipelines.
• →Consult with Massey investigators on study design, project scoping, analytical strategy, data interpretation, and application of AI to cancer research questions.
• →Collaborate on cancer-focused studies involving multi-omics, tumor microenvironment, spatial biology, digital pathology, precision oncology, and related areas.
• →Develop, validate, document, and maintain reproducible AI and bioinformatics workflows that can be incorporated into ongoing Bioinformatics Shared Resource services.
• →Evaluate model accuracy, robustness, reproducibility, computational efficiency, and suitability for cancer research applications.
• →Provide technical guidance and training to BISR staff, trainees, and investigators in the appropriate use of AI-enabled computational approaches.
• →Contribute to manuscripts, grant proposals, scientific presentations, progress reports, and dissemination of software and analytical methods.

• Ph.D. in bioinformatics, computer science, biomedical informatics, computational biology, artificial intelligence, data science, or a closely related field or equivalent combination of education, experience, and training
• At least 2 years of demonstrated experience in machine learning and deep learning.
• At least 2 years of experience working with large language models, including model evaluation, prompt design, retrieval-augmented generation, fine-tuning, agentic systems, or model deployment.
• Strong programming skills in Python and experience with modern machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX, or comparable platforms.
• Experience deploying computational models or applications on high-performance computing clusters and/or cloud environments.
• Experience with modern software development, including backend services, APIs, databases, containers, version control, and full-stack application development.
• Ability to work independently while contributing effectively within a multidisciplinary cancer research and shared-resource environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical concepts for experimental, translational, and clinical cancer researchers.
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from various backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU

• Experience applying AI or machine learning to cancer genomics, transcriptomics, single-cell data, spatial omics, biomedical imaging, digital pathology, or multi-omics integration.
• Experience with biomedical foundation models, transformer architectures, multimodal learning, graph neural networks, diffusion models, or other generative modeling approaches.
• Experience developing agentic AI systems, tool-using language models, or automated scientific analysis workflows.
• Experience with retrieval-augmented generation, vector databases, knowledge graphs, and biomedical or cancer knowledge resources.
• Experience with precision oncology, tumor microenvironment analysis, biomarker discovery, or other cancer-focused computational research.
• A record of scientific publications, open-source software development, or contributions to collaborative biomedical or cancer research.
• Experience supporting investigators through a research core, shared resource, or other collaborative scientific environment.

The Bioinformatics Shared Resource supports investigators across Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and the broader VCU research community by providing expertise in cancer bioinformatics, computational biology, multi-omics analysis, single-cell and spatial biology, data integration, visualization, and emerging AI-enabled research methods.

The AI Research Scientist will join a multidisciplinary team and collaborate with experimental, translational, and clinical investigators on high-impact cancer research. The position offers an opportunity to help establish next-generation AI capabilities within the cancer center, create broadly useful computational platforms, and accelerate the translation of complex cancer data into biological and clinical insight.

The successful candidate will demonstrate scientific rigor, intellectual curiosity, strong collaborative skills, and a commitment to developing dependable and reproducible computational tools for cancer research. The individual will be expected to balance innovative AI research with the practical requirements of deployment, documentation, maintenance, data security, reproducibility, and user support in a shared-resource environment.

Please let us know if you were referred by a current Massey employee to ensure we honor our commitment to the Employee Referral Program.

VCU is committed to hiring veterans! VCU will include a veteran’s period(s) of military service in the calculation of their annual leave accrual rate. This may provide veterans with an increased leave accrual!

Back to search results Apply now Refer a friend