Senior Scientist - Global Drug Discovery

About the Department                                                                                                                                             

Our US Research & Development hub, located in the Greater Boston area, brings together the best talent to drive life science innovation. Located in Lexington, Watertown and Cambridge, our teams reflect the full scope of R&D, from early research through late-stage clinical development. We are building for the future by creating a distinct R&D community based on collaboration, partnerships, and cutting-edge research across multiple modalities and therapeutic areas. We recognize that improving human health starts here and that patients rely on us. By combining the speed and agility of biotech with the quality, resources, and stability of a large pharmaceutical company, our US R&D hub will benefit from the best of both worlds to develop new medicines that meet the needs of patients.

 

 

The Position

Global Drug Discovery (GDD) is establishing a dedicated microphysiological systems (MPS) department in Watertown with the purpose of identifying and integrating the next generation of human disease models into our drug discovery efforts within cardiometabolic disease. The department will be anchored in the Integrated Physiology Research area and will have strong integration with the biology areas across GDD.

 

The Senior Scientist will be part of a highly ambitious multidisciplinary team dedicated to setting up and implementing human cell-based disease relevant MPS platforms to support validation and progression of early drug candidates. The position will report to the Head of the MPS. Working closely with the cardiometabolic therapeutic areas across Research & Early Development (R&ED) organization the individual will lead the organ-specific disease model development efforts with the initial focus of developing multicellular cardiometabolic disease models. In addition, the Senior Scientist will help establish this new unit by setting scientific direction and utilizing its network in the MPS field. The individual will drive the in vitro technology development in multidisciplinary teams requiring being hands-on in the lab, guiding junior scientists, and working closely with the external partners on specific model development projects.

 

Relationships

The senior scientist will report to the head of the Microphysiological Systems (MPS) department at Novo Nordisk in Greater Boston (Watertown).

 

Internal relationships include working closely with technical staff and scientists within the MPS department as well as with the head of MPS. Moreover, the individual will work closely with scientists within the cardiometabolic therapeutic areas across the global Research & Early Development (R&ED) organization, with project managers, and with other technical experts across the global organization.

 

The senior scientist will interact with external research collaborators both academia- & industry.

 

The individual may supervise and mentor less experienced team members.

 

Internal relationships include working closely with technical staff & other members of the scientific leadership team; regular collaborations with members of other research departments at NNRCSI; & frequent interaction with project managers & other colleagues across global R&D. Individual may direct the work of other staff members.

 

Individual will interact with external research collaborators both academia- & industry-based.

 

Essential Functions

• Proven subject matter expertise in the field of: Microphysiological Systems, cardiometabolic disease research (in particular obesity & Type 2 Diabetes), and bioengineering.
• Demonstrates a specialized depth of expertise and engages relationships with other key areas related to drug discovery and development in the pharmaceutical industry.
• Work with full autonomy on complex tasks requiring highly specialized knowledge of strategic importance to SVP area.
• Lead the organ-specific disease model development efforts especially within insulin resistance and multi-organ models.
• Drive the in vitro technology development in multidisciplinary teams, guiding junior scientists, and working closely with the external partners on specific model development projects.
• Contribute with subject matter expertise to develop the research agenda with a clear understanding of the link between scientific project goals and overall long-term business needs.
• Effectively communicate and collaborate across global sites and sets project strategy by providing leadership of cross-functional project teams.
• Propose and lead external collaborations and strategic partnerships to develop the MPS technology pl