Principal investigator and associate professor leading a 12-person cancer biology lab focused on tumor metabolism. Maintains $3.8M in active NIH and foundation funding with 45 publications and an h-index of 28. Brings an established research program, strong mentoring record and collaborations that turn discoveries into translational studies.
Experience
Associate Professor and Principal Investigator, Department of Cell Biology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, TN)
Jul 2021 – Present
Direct a lab of 3 postdocs, 5 Ph.D. students and 4 staff studying glutamine metabolism in pancreatic cancer
Hold $3.8M in active funding, including an NIH R01 and an R21, plus a Lustgarten Foundation award
Published 14 papers since 2021, including senior-author studies in Cancer Cell and Nature Metabolism
Assistant Professor and Principal Investigator, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, TN)
Jan 2016 – Jun 2021
Launched the lab with a $1.1M startup package and won a first R01 within three years
Trained 4 Ph.D. graduates, all now in postdoctoral or industry science roles
Postdoctoral Fellow, Eastbridge Cancer Research Institute (New York, NY)
Sep 2011 – Dec 2015
Identified a KRAS-driven nutrient scavenging pathway published in Nature and earned an NCI K99/R00 award
Education
Ph.D. Molecular Cell Biology, Washington University in St. Louis (Aug 2005 – Aug 2011)
Skills
Research: cancer metabolism, stable isotope tracing, mouse models, organoids
Funding: NIH R01, R21, K99/R00, foundation grants, study section service
Leadership: lab management, mentoring, IRB and IACUC protocols, budgets
How to write a Principal Investigator resume
A strong Principal Investigator resume shows the questions you investigated, the methods and instruments you mastered, and the data, publications or products your work produced. Lead with scope and impact: the size of the systems, budgets or teams you influenced, and the decisions you owned.
Sections, in order
Summary
Experience
Education
Projects
Skills
Certifications
Length: One page is ideal; two pages are fine with 10+ years of relevant experience.
Summary: Open with your specialty and years of experience, then one or two signature results.
Skills to feature
Experimental design
Laboratory techniques and instrumentation
Statistical analysis (R, Python, GraphPad Prism)
Data integrity (ALCOA+)
GLP and GMP compliance
Method development and validation
Scientific writing and publishing
Grant writing
Literature review
Cross-functional collaboration
Example bullet points
Developed an LC-MS/MS method for 14 metabolites with under 6% CV, replacing two legacy assays and cutting run time by 40%
Co-authored 5 peer-reviewed papers, including a first-author study in Journal of Biological Chemistry cited 60+ times
Wrote the preliminary-data section of an NIH R01 renewal that secured $2.4M over five years
Tips from recruiters
Name the techniques, instruments and software you used hands-on (qPCR, HPLC, flow cytometry, ImageJ) because hiring managers screen for exact methods.
List publications, posters and patents in a short selected list and link to ORCID or Google Scholar rather than pasting a full CV.
For industry roles, translate research into outcomes such as programs advanced, methods transferred or batches released, not only papers.
Recommended templates
Academic (ATS-friendly): Scholarly CV with small-caps headings and rules
Classic (ATS-friendly): Jake's-style LaTeX classic: small caps and hairline rules
Ivy (ATS-friendly): Harvard-style Times layout with centered headings
Principal Investigator resume FAQ
What should a Principal Investigator resume include?
A Principal Investigator resume should show the questions you investigated, the methods and instruments you mastered, and the data, publications or products your work produced. Use these sections in this order: Summary, Experience, Education, Projects, Skills and Certifications. Lead with scope and impact: the size of the systems, budgets or teams you influenced, and the decisions you owned.
What is the best resume template for a Principal Investigator?
Academic, Classic and Ivy work well for Principal Investigator roles. They are single-column with standard headings, so applicant tracking systems (ATS) parse them reliably.
How long should a Principal Investigator resume be?
One page is ideal; two pages are fine with 10+ years of relevant experience.
Which skills should a Principal Investigator put on a resume?
Prioritize the skills named in the job posting. Common ones for Principal Investigator roles are Experimental design, Laboratory techniques and instrumentation, Statistical analysis (R, Python, GraphPad Prism), Data integrity (ALCOA+), GLP and GMP compliance and Method development and validation.
How do I write strong Principal Investigator resume bullet points?
Start with an action verb, say what you did, and end with a measurable result such as assay throughput, method precision (CV%) and turnaround time. For example: "Developed an LC-MS/MS method for 14 metabolites with under 6% CV, replacing two legacy assays and cutting run time by 40%."