Scientist, Cell and Molecular Biology

Company

Each day, the lives of more than 2 billion people across the globe are impacted by chronic diseases. Moreover, the economic burden on society of treating chronic disease is spinning out of control. Today, this dire situation appears unlikely to change as >95% of global healthcare costs are spent on treating rather than preventing chronic diseases. Flagship Labs 84, Inc. is a privately held early-stage company that is applying advanced biological and computational platforms to discover breakthroughs in detection of and intervention against the etiologies that drive progression from health to disease. Our goal is to leverage our proprietary platforms to disrupt the current approach of treating chronic disease after symptoms onset. We endeavor to provide true health care rather than sick care to individuals that are at risk of progressing to disease.

Flagship Pioneering is a biotechnology company that invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $90 billion in aggregate value. Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.  Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies and has been twice named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Learn more about Flagship at www.flagshippioneering.com.

Position Summary:

FL84 is seeking a highly motivated and experienced cell and molecular biologist to join our early-stage biotech company. The successful candidate will be a driven, experienced scientist who is enthusiastic about leveraging state-of-the-art techniques to develop disease relevant models and in vitro assays that will unlock key insights underlying disease progression. Hands-on experience with liver primary cells, co-culture experiments and spheroids is critical. Evaluation and characterization of the models will involve NGS experiments such as single cell/single nucleus sequencing, standard and multiplexed bulk RNA-seq. Hands-on experience in the design and execution of well-controlled NGS experiments is required, including tissue selection and acquisition, experimental methodology and protocol optimization, library preparation and troubleshooting, and operation of Illumina sequencing platforms. The candidate will be expected to perform other routine molecular biology experiments in house such as cell culture assays, western blot, ELISA, qPCR, flow cytometry and sorting, or imaging. When warranted, the candidate will also need to train and supervise junior employees in relevant experimental techniques.  An ideal candidate will pride themselves on their ability to craft scientifically logical stories out of complex data and convert them into executable experiments. The position will provide a unique opportunity to play a foundational role in the development and expansion of FL84’s preclinical platform.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with FL84 scientific team to design and execute molecular biology-based experiments to support key hypotheses
• Independently design, plan, execute, and troubleshoot NGS studies, collaborate intensively with computational biologists to answer scientific question
• Drive the development of disease relevant in vitro models
• Develop laboratory protocols and optimize workflow to meet project goals and timelines
• Analyze, troubleshoot, and optimize preclinical assays as needed
• Maintain scientific and technical expertise through familiarity with scientific literature
• Coordinate with CROs and external collaborators to support advancement of projects
• Communicate results to rest of FL84 team and executive management
• Help lead, mentor, and build experimental team

Basic requirements:

• PhD in molecular biology, biochemistry, or related fields
• Deep knowledge of molecular and cellular biology techniques
• Experience working with a variety of biomaterials (tissues, blood, primary cells, iPSCs)
• Experience with liver biology and developing disease relevant in vitro assays
• Demonstrated ability to be a thoughtful contributor to experimental design and data analysis
• Experience with NGS approaches and collaboration with computational biologists to design, optimize and anal