Job Description

This position may be located in Jacksonville, FL or Rochester, MN.

Position Description

The Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center (MCCCC) enterprise sites in Jacksonville, Florida and Rochester, Minnesota invite applications for open-rank faculty positions for innovative and accomplished Cancer In Vivo Gene Editing Investigators (Physicians and Scientists) to expand in vivo gene editing efforts in the Mayo Clinic In Vivo Human Gene Editing Program (Precision Genomics: Interventional Therapeutics: PG:IT) and the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center's Programs in Cell Therapy Discovery and Translational Science. These reflect Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center's commitment to accelerating the next generation of engineered cell therapies and to advancing curative treatments for cancer and other diseases.

We seek exceptional investigators (scientists and physicians) with expertise in in vivo genome engineering and gene editing technologies (e.g., CRISPR/Cas systems, base editing, prime editing, epigenome editing, RNA editing, synthetic gene circuits, or related platforms) applied to human cells for ultimate therapeutic development and intervention. Successful candidates will have the opportunity to play a central role in advancing a rapidly growing, multidisciplinary cell therapy program focused on discovery science, translational innovation, and clinical impact.

A key component of this role will be close collaboration with established CAR-T and immune cell therapy scientists, leveraging advanced genetic editing strategies to enhance persistence, safety, resistance to exhaustion, efficacy, tumor microenvironment adaptation, and manufacturability. While the successful candidates will focus on applications in cancer, they will have the opportunity to work in oncology and non-oncology indications across the Mayo Clinic enterprise to develop novel gene-engineered approaches that expand the therapeutic reach of cellular therapies beyond cancer, including autoimmune, inflammatory, genetic, and other degenerative disorders.

Strategic Role and Leadership Expectations

The Cancer In Vivo Gene Editing Investigator will:

• Provide scientific expertise and have the opportunity for leadership roles in genome engineering strategies.
• Partner closely with CAR-T investigators and translational immunotherapy teams to develop next-generation engineered immune cell platforms.
• Develop innovative gene editing solutions to improve efficacy, durability, safety switches, multiplex editing strategies, and precision targeting in both malignant and non-malignant disease settings.
• Build scalable and clinically translatable genetic engineering pipelines that accelerate progression from discovery to early-phase clinical trials.
• Contribute to the strategic growth and national visibility of the Mayo Clinic PG:IT Program and Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center's Cell Therapy Programs.
• Mentor trainees, junior faculty, and research staff within a collaborative and inclusive academic environment.
• Participate in institutional initiatives aligned with Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cance Center's vision to Cure, Connect, and Transform healthcare through transformative science.

The successful candidate will be a key driver in integrating advanced genome engineering technologies into existing and emerging cell therapy platforms, enabling novel approaches to immune cell engineering, stem cell modification, in vivo gene editing strategies, and precision genome correction programs.

Research Environment

Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center offer a highly collaborative and integrated academic medical center environment with expanding strengths in cell therapy, cancer immunotherapy, regenerative medicine, and translational science. Mayo Clinic and MCCCC have built a world-class research hub to transform cancer patient care through actionable target discovery and next-generation discovery and therapeutic platforms. These foundational platforms include Mayo Clinic Platform (www.mayoclinicplatform.org) which holds the fully digitized longitudinal patient records from 15M Mayo Clinic patients and 54M patients from across the nation and the globe with collaborating healthcare institutions, which facilitate research through development of longitudinal patient cohorts prior to and following disease diagnosis. Mayo Clinic has also developed very strong AI-driven discovery, translational, and clinical programs with exceptional "on premises" and cloud-based computational resources.

Faculty benefit from:

• Established CAR-T and immune cell therapy programs with active clinical translation
• State-of-the-art genome engineering and cell manufacturing infrastructure
• Access to institutional core facilities including genomics, single-cell sequencing, proteomics, bioinformatics, and advanced imaging
• Robust disease-focused centers supporting both oncology and non-oncology therapeutic innovation
• Dedicated institutional support for regulatory strategy, clinical trial development, and commercialization pathways
• Cross-campus collaboration opportunities with Mayo Clinic sites in Minnesota and Arizona.

The selected candidates will facilitate the development of forward-looking cell therapy strategy that integrates gene editing platforms with clinical translation infrastructure.

Qualifications

Qualifications
Qualified candidates must hold a doctoral degree (Ph.D., M.D., M.D./Ph.D., Sc.D., or equivalent) in genetics, molecular biology, immunology, biomedical engineering, or a related discipline.

Candidates should demonstrate:

• A strong record of high-impact, peer-reviewed publications in genome editing, immune engineering, or related fields.
• Sustained extramural funding appropriate to academic rank (NIH K award or equivalent for Assistant Professor; R01-level funding or equivalent for Associate Professor or higher).
• Experience collaborating across disciplines, particularly with immunotherapy or CAR-T research programs.
• Evidence of scientific leadership and the ability to build and participate in collaborative, multidisciplinary research programs.
• A demonstrated commitment to mentorship, education, and fostering an inclusive academic culture.

Appointment level (Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor) will be commensurate with experience and years in rank, scholarly achievement, leadership experience, and funding record.

About the Team

Just as our reputation has spread beyond our Minnesota roots, so have our locations. Today, our employees are located at our three major campuses in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, Jacksonville, Florida, Rochester, Minnesota, and at Mayo Clinic Health System campuses throughout Midwestern communities, and at our international locations. Each Mayo Clinic location is a special place where our employees thrive in both their work and personal lives. Learn more about what each unique Mayo Clinic campus has to offer, and where your best fit is.