Principal Scientist

Company Overview: Abiologics, Inc. is a privately held, early-stage biotechnology company on a mission to make biology better through an innovative therapeutic modality. We are pioneering the development of Synteins^TM, a transformational class of macromolecular medicines unlocked by novel synthetic and computational technologies. Abiologics is actively seeking exceptional molecular scientists who are passionate about driving therapeutic modality innovation in biotechnology.

Abiologics was founded in Flagship Pioneering’s venture creation engine, where companies such as Moderna Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MRNA) and Generate Biomedicines were conceived and created. Since Flagship’s founding in 2000, the firm has originated and fostered the development of more than 100 scientific ventures resulting in more than 500 issued patents and more than 50 clinical trials for novel therapeutic agents.

Position Summary: We are looking for a highly motivated, experienced cell biologist and assay developer to join our growing team and lead the in vitro pharmacology and biomarkers efforts. In this role, the successful candidate will be responsible for conceiving, developing and executing the in vitro pharmacology and biomarker plans to support the progression of the Abiologics pipeline. This role includes hands-on work in the lab, as well as a leadership role in representing her/his Function in the project Teams, mentorship of more jr scientists, and potentially line management of a small team. Occasionally, the incumbent may contribute to in vivo and ex-vivo pharmacology activities to progress the projects and the platform. In addition, this role will collaborate cross-functionally with a diverse design-make-test team across Abiologics and have the opportunity to impact platform and company build-out.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, develop and execute cell-based assays to assess Syntein^TM activity, target engagement and mechanism of action to drive discovery programs
• Lead cell biology efforts within the Discovery team to identify and implement relevant cell-based assays for diverse target classes and disease areas
• Collaborate with the Discovery team on biochemistry and biophysics projects and provide cell biology expertise and guidance to junior team members
• Contribute to in vivo and ex-vivo pharmacology activities to progress the projects and the platform
• Collaborate cross-functionally to enable novel methods, assays and screening workflows
• Ensure rapid generation and accurate reporting of high-quality data and collaborate with Computational Design and Chemistry teams to drive design-make-test cycles
• Effectively communicate scientific findings and ideas to a diverse team both informally and at project team meetings

Qualifications:

• PhD in molecular or cell biology or related discipline with minimum 6 years relevant experience in industry required
• Technical expertise with mammalian cell culture including establishing and maintaining cell lines, transient and stable transfection, and reporter cell lines
• Proficient in industry-standard cell-based assay and bioanalytical techniques including TR-FRET, ELISA, flow cytometry, and reporter gene; experience with cellular/high content imaging and image analysis a plus
• Experienced with primary cell culture and characterization, including tissue dissociation and cell isolation of various immune cell types
• Experienced in biomarkers identification, assay development and testing in model systems and human with good understanding of analytical and pre-analytical methods and solutions
• In vivo pharmacology expertise highly desired
• Demonstrated ability to independently design, develop and optimize diverse cell-based assays and interpret complex results
• Disease biology expertise in at least 2 of the following: immunology,oncology, metabolism and neuroscience
• Proficiency in laboratory automation and semi-automated screening workflows a plus
• Industry level experience with best practices related to data records creation and maintenance and workflows integrity
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment; self-driven, creative, with a strong team-oriented mentality
• Demonstrated ability to lead and grow people in the industry setting