Head of Clinical Research

Your experience includes…

• MD/PhD or equivalent degree with relevant internal medicine training and board certification +15 years of industry experience in clinical development within a pharmaceutical or biotechnology company.
• Designing, implementing, and overseeing multiple early-stage clinical studies, including study start-up activities, medical monitoring and productive partnership with study investigators and clinical research organization staff.
• Authoring documents required for clinical studies, including study protocols, investigator brochures, regulatory briefing packages and dossiers to support IND/CTA/CTN. You must have direct experience with IND/CTA submissions.
• Thorough understanding of ICH and GCP guidelines to ensure the appropriate conduct of global clinical studies.
• Understanding of clinical research methodology and biostatistics principles.
• Demonstrated track record of overseeing a clinical team and successfully completing clinical studies.
• Effective communication and presentation skills.

You are interested in…

• Providing clinical leadership and medical representation for the liver Gene WritingTM programs, serving as primary medical lead/expert and medical monitor for clinical studies.
• Ensuring a streamlined and innovative clinical development and medical strategy by developing expertise in relevant therapeutics areas and staying current with advances in the field. This includes soliciting and incorporating input from academic thought leads, research leads, regulatory authorities and CRO’s.
• Authoring medical components for clinical development plans, study protocols, investigator brochures, informed consents, SAPs, pharmacy manuals and associated clinical/regulatory documents including clinical study reports, regulatory briefing books and submissions, responses to questions from regulators, IRBs/ECs, and medical content for other relevant internal/external documents.
• Hiring, developing and managing clinical development resources in accordance with program budget and timelines.
• Overseeing risk-based safety monitoring of clinical studies, including regular review of safety data. Developing appropriate responses to safety issues that might arise.
• Interpretation and analysis of clinical study safety and efficacy data, as well as reviewing nonclinical toxicology studies.
• Preparation of meeting abstracts, posters, presentations, and publications for internal management review and external scientific/clinical meetings.
• Maintaining a constant focus on patient wellbeing across the organization.

About you:

You are an industry experienced physician trained in internal medicine who is interested in leading Clinical Development of Tessera’s non-viral lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery and Gene WritingTM genome editing platforms to correct pathogenic mutations in the liver. You have experience with strategic oversight, hands-on management and advancement of innovative clinical stage programs.

You encompass skill and drive to be hands on and are interested in building a team from the group up. You have the ability to create strong collaborations across leadership and key stakeholders while representing the medical perspective for Tessera’s programs both internally and externally.

Tessera leaders are empathetic and transparent coaches with a strong sense of integrity. They are committed to the growth and development of their teams, the organization and themselves.

Gene Writing to correct monogenic diseases resulting from hepatocyte dysfunction will enable Tessera to pursue curative therapies for diseases such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, phenylketonuria, and Wilson’s Disease. On the horizon, hepatocyte Gene WritingTM to correct or introduce genetic polymorphisms associated with negative or positive disease risk, respectively, may enable Tessera to develop therapies for prevalent disorders such as MASH, hyperlipidemia, and obesity.

Leadership Structure:

This position reports to: Dave Davidson - Chief Medical Officer

David joined Tessera in 2021 as Chief Medical and Development Officer. David brings over 20 years of expertise in clinical drug development focused on rare diseases and gene therapy.

Most recently, David served as Chief Medical Officer of bluebird bio for nearly a decade, where he played a critical role in advancing a broad genetic medicine pipeline across blood disorders, rare diseases and oncology, successfully leading numerous genetic medicine programs into the clinic and delivering two first-in-class approvals for genetic medicines in the U.S. and Europe. Prior to bluebird bio, David led clinical research for a wide range of therapeutic programs at Genzyme and GelTex, spanning biologics, polymers, and gene therapy.

David completed a fellowship in infectious diseases at the Harvard Longwood Combined ID Program, his residency training in internal medicine and an endocrinology research fellowship at the University of Chicago Hospitals, and received his M.D. from New York University and B.A. from Columbia University.

Meet our Leadership Team and Board of Directors

Meet your Talent Partner:

Narissa Furtado-Cordeiro - Manager, Talent Acquisition

Narissa joined the Biotechnology industry shortly after graduating with her BS in Marketing from Franklin Pierce University. She is currently pursuing a MS in Legal Studies from Northeastern University School of Law while working full time as a Manager in Talent Acquisition at Tessera. She is passionate about helping individuals find a fulfilling opportunity while considering their interests, aspirations and technical skills. Narissa lives in Northern Vermont and enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, three-year-old daughter and German Shepherd.

Tessera offers a competitive package of base and incentive compensation as well as a comprehensive benefits program designed to support the health, wellness and financial security of our employees and their families. Benefits currently include group medical, vision and dental coverage, group life and disability insurance, 401(k) with company contribution, tuition reimbursement, and much more.