Senior Associate Scientist - Global Research Technologies

About the Department                                                                                                                                             

As part of the establishment of our R&D Hub in greater Boston, Novo Nordisk is growing its efforts within chemical biology. A cornerstone of this is an expansion of our capabilities in bioassay development to support the validation of drug targets and advance drug research programs that address unmet needs within a broad range of serious chronic diseases. Building on our success in delivering to patients’ treatments for diabetes, obesity, and other chronic and rare diseases, we are rapidly growing our activities in our relentless pursuit of the next generation of novel therapies, exploration of new targets across a range of new modalities. 

In growing our presence in the greater Boston area via our R&D Hub, we seek to bring together the 100-year heritage and experience of Novo Nordisk with the unparalleled innovation eco-system found in Boston. You will join and help build a vibrant and science-focused team of researchers, where innovation is at the core. Chemical Biology is part of Global Research Technologies, a key part of our R&ED organization which thrives on exploring new drug modalities, innovating screening and characterisation approaches, and enhancing delivery technologies to support projects across all therapeutic areas. We are an interdisciplinary team comprised of chemists, protein engineers, and biologists, and we are currently expanding our in vitro pharmacology screening and mode-of-action study capabilities with novel tools and technologies.

 

We are based in newly established lab facilities in Lexington and co-located with target discovery and early drug research groups. As part of a team of leading scientists and innovators, you will bring your own ideas and collaborate with others to develop the next generation of medicines. It’s ground-breaking work with the promise of improving the lives of millions of people with chronic diseases. If you want to make a difference, join us in pioneering research that can achieve a global impact.

The Position

In your role as In Vitro Assay Development Scientist, you will be responsible for design, development, validation, miniaturisation, and implementation of in vitro assays to support our target validation and drug discovery. You will work with diverse modalities, including proteins, peptides, small molecules, oligonucleotides, and their conjugates. You will play a key role in mode-of-action and structure-activity relationship studies. You will contribute to maturing and advancing scientific ideas into projects within different therapeutic areas through experimental design and execution, ensuring data integrity and reproducibility, and communicating results to diverse project teams.

In your daily work, you will collaborate closely with scientists within the Chemical Biology team, other teams across our growing US R&D Hub, and global project teams. The working environment in Global Research Technologies is dynamic and innovative and involves interactions with colleagues from research sites in Denmark, UK, and China, with an excellent opportunity to establish a strong global scientific network. 

 

Relationships

Internal relationships include project teams and research colleagues within greater Boston R&D Hub as well as in Denmark and around the globe. Communicates data externally when required. Individual Contributor: does not manage other employees or contingent workers.

 

Essential Functions

• Advances research projects by applying broad knowledge of early drug discovery.
• Proposes, designs, develops, validates, and implements in vitro assay technologies.
• Provides subject matter expertise for target validation experiments and mode-of-action studies.
• Evaluates novel assay techniques and drives modification and adaptation of experimental protocols to enable the establishment of screening bioassays.
• Designs and develops biosensors and genetically encoded reporters utilising classic molecular biology and nucleic acid cloning techniques.
• Sources and engineers new cell lines suitable for functional screening, is responsible for cell line maintenance, cell banking and exchange of cell lines with other teams, work in close collaboration with and provides clear guidance to other team members.
• Performs functional cell assays assessing target engagement and intracellular signalling for different modalities in collaboration with chemists and guidance from the respective therapeutic area, adheres to established protocols and study plans.
• Analyses and interprets data independently or with minimal oversight; organizes and presents data in a clear manner; assesses data robustness and reproducibilit