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NCI pitches mission-driven career paths and starter roles to attract data-science talent
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Summary
NCI leaders said mission-driven research, starter positions and training programs at the Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology can attract data scientists; they urged flexibility and continuous learning for candidates transitioning from bench to informatics work.
National Cancer Institute leaders described practical steps the agency is taking to recruit and retain data scientists for cancer research, emphasizing mission-driven work, starter roles and training.
"We're going to have to either catch people in a career transition," Jeff Schilling said, arguing that NCI can attract candidates who want to apply technical skills to biomedical problems rather than pursue high‑pay private-sector roles. Tony Kurlavage said the center is developing clearer career pathways and training opportunities to help bench scientists, clinicians and others transition into data-science roles.
Both speakers stressed flexibility and continuous learning. Kurlavage described initiatives from NCI's Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology (CBIIT) to teach practical data-science skills, and both guests encouraged early-career scientists to pursue applied roles rather than long sequences of postdoctoral positions.
The guests gave examples of career transitions: a Princeton computer-science graduate who initially worked for Pixar and later became an NCI investigator, and staff who moved from laboratory science into informatics roles. Schilling also recommended building relationships across scientific and technical teams as a key to getting such positions.
The podcast closed with listener engagement details: submit recommendations to nciicc@nih.gov and general questions to nciinfo@nih.gov (phone number given in the episode). The hosts asked prospective applicants to emphasize adaptability and an appetite for continuous learning when considering data-science careers at NCI.
