Principal Scientist: Complex In Vitro Models

Principal Scientist: Complex In Vitro Models

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At GSK, we have bold ambitions for patients, aiming to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade. R&D is committed to discovering and delivering transformational vaccines and medicines to prevent and change the course of disease.

We believe the Greater Boston area is an important hub for the biotech and pharma industry, which is why we’ve invested in growing our footprint and expanding our R&D space in Cambridge, with a primary focus on additional state-of-the-art lab space. Here, we will bring together talent and expertise, building upon GSK’s long history of vaccine development, to create globally leading viral capabilities and cutting-edge vaccines technologies, as we add to our robust portfolio targeting infectious diseases at every stage of life.

In the plan to create a new hub for mRNA-based vaccine discovery in Cambridge, we are building new laboratories that will be focused on the development of state-of-the-art methods that will be supporting deep product understanding, process and product development, as well as testing of pre-clinical and clinical samples for new mRNA-based vaccines.

As a Principal Scientist, you will be expected to lead and conduct advanced research in the field of RNA vaccines, contributing to the development of innovative vaccine solutions.

The successful applicant may be required to participate in minimal travel within the first year of hire in Rockville, MD to support and guarantee a smooth transition of methods and know-how to the new laboratories in Cambridge, MA. 

We are looking for a highly collaborative, innovative cell biologist  or virologist with experience in multiple innate and adaptive in vitro viral and immune assays and 3D models who can contribute to multiple projects and rapidly advance a wide variety of vaccine candidates through preclinical development. 

The Principal Scientist will be focused on developing and executing immune competent in vitro models, including complex 2- and 3-dimensional (3D) models, to be used for characterization of vaccine candidates. The scientist will bring to the team experience developing complex in vitro assays, including microphysiological systems (MPS) and complex models composed of human biological samples (HBS) and primary cells. They will also contribute their significant knowledge of immunology, virology and cell biology and will generate data to provide critical information to enable strategic decision making by the vaccine project teams.

Key Responsibilities:

• Perform multiple immunological assays including FACS, ADCP, ELISPOT and ligand based assays
• Provide scientific expertise in the areas of innate and adaptive immune responses to viruses, development and execution of assays to evaluate those responses.
• Troubleshoot and resolve technical problems
• Write protocols, procedures and work instructions to support assays
• Train and mentor students and/or junior lab personnel
• Provide effective and inspiring leadership with an enterprise mindset, to enable collaboration with scientists across multiple functions and sites, including key scientific stakeholders internally and externally.
• Independently write specific technical sections of internal and external reports and contribute to scientific papers
• Articulately communicate results orally or written internally to senior leadership or externally at conferences.
• Cheerfully collaborate with internal and external team members

Basic Qualifications:

We are looking for professionals with these required skills to achieve our goals:

• PhD degree with at least 4 years of experience OR a Master’s degree with at least 9 years of experience in virology or immunology assays
• Three or more years of experience in working with viruses, cell differentiation and human biological samples (HBS)
• Three or more years of laboratory experience utilizing FACS, ADCP, ELISpot or ligand based assays
• Ability to work in person at the Cambridge site (Cambridge Park Drive)

Preferred Qualifications:

If you have the following characteristics, it would be a plus:

• In depth expertise with the implementation and execution of 2D or 3D models to recapitulate human cellular responses to vaccines
• Ability to troubleshoot and resolve technical problems
• Experience successfully training and leading others
• Experience with confocal microscopy
• Basic skills in statistical analysis 
• Expe