Job Title: Senior Research Associate [Immunology/Cell Therapy]
Location: Cambridge MA
Duration: 12 Months
- PhD degree (and/or 0 years) or Master degree (and/or 2 years) in cell immunology, protein/antibody science or equivalent relevant work experience with strong knowledge of T/NK cell biology, immuno-oncology, and cell therapy.
- Bachelor's degree with 6 years relevant experience.
Objectives/Purpose
- Design and implement experiments to screen for drug candidates, and to address mechanisms-of-action of therapeutic molecules.
- Perform complex cell-based functional experiments independently.
- Act as a subject matter expert (SME) for drug discovery in the Cell therapy and Immuno-Oncology/Immuno Therapy.
SCOPE
- Provide broad assay development support for early stage drug discovery projects in disease areas of the Cell therapy and Immuno-Oncology/Immuno Therapy
- Design, execute and validate a variety of assays to understand mechanism of action and characterize different biologics (e.g., mAb, T cell engagers) and cell therapy new modalities (e.g., CAR-T, CAR-NK)
- Collaborate with automation engineers to identify suitable approaches to utilize laboratory automation for the execution of variable cell-based assays.
- CAR T/NK generation (transduction and expansion) and functional evaluation of CAR expression, phenotyping, cytokine detection and killing potency in vitro.
- Spend ~ 85% of time in laboratory to maintain and implement cell based assay platform and perform experiments
- Interface with project teams to meet timelines for project progression
- Present research findings clearly and effectively at internal and external meetings
- Troubleshoot complex problems in creative and effective ways
Dimensions And Aspects
- Master degree in cell immunology, protein/antibody science and/or 2 years equivalent relevant Or PHD (0 years + experience) work experience with strong knowledge of T/NK cell biology, immuno-oncology, and cell therapy.
- Bachelor's degree with 6 years relevant experience.
- Tissue culture including application of aseptic techniques for media compounding, passaging, maintenance and cryopreservation of cell cultures.
- Experience with immune cell (T/NK cells) isolation, culture and engineering.
- Proficiency in immune cell phenotyping (surface/intracellular), cytokine detection (multi-color flown cytometry, Luminex, MSD), cytotoxicity assay (short or long term killing), internalization assay and High content imaging (Opera Phenix) or other functional assays.
- Proficient in data generation (prism, excel), presentation and troubleshooting.
- Experience with viral delivery methods is a plus.
- Knowledged and experienced in cell biology and antibody characterization
- Experience in troubleshooting, assay optimization and data quality control is a plus
- Skilled in data analysis, interpretation, and data reporting
- Leadership (Vision, strategy and business alignment, people management, communication, influencing others, managing change)
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, along with the ability to work with cross-functional project teams
- Ability to work independently and self-driven in managing and accomplishing daily tasks
- Decision-making and Autonomy (The capacity and authority to make organizational decisions, autonomy in decision-making, complexity of decisions, impact of decisions, problem-solving)
- Hands-on cell-based functional assay experience
- Ability to manages workflow to deliver quality results in timely manner
- Troubleshoots complex problems in creative and effective ways and actively participates in innovation and/or optimization of established processes to ensure data relavence and quality
- Ability to make data-driven influences on projects decision making
- Interaction (The span and nature of one's engagement with others when performing one's job, internal and external relationships)
- Works well under minimal supervision
- Good interpersonal skills, collaborate with team members
- Participate in cross-functioanl project team interactions and collaborations
- Innovation (The required level of scientific knowledge, knowledge sharing, innovation and risk taking)
- Participates in new technology assessment under supervision
- Complexity (Products managed, mix of businesses, internal and/or external business environment, cultural considerations)
Education, Behavioural Competencies And Skills:
- MS with 2+ years experience, or BS with 5+ years experience