Principal Scientist, HTTP pDNA Cloning and RNA Production

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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.

Principal Scientist GSK RNA Vaccines CoE (RNA Research and Rapid Response Lab)

The mRNA Research and Rapid Response Lab sits within the GSK RNA Vaccines Center of Excellence based out of GSK’s Cambridge Park Drive facility in Boston, Massachusetts.  The mRNA Research and Rapid Response Lab is responsible for generating and characterizing mRNA vaccine candidates against viral respiratory diseases. This team provides key molecular biology and cell biology support to mRNA vaccine discovery and development programs, and is also responsible for implementing new techniques and technologies to improve high throughput generation and screening of vaccine candidates, including high-throughput cloning, high-throughput RNA generation and high-throughput in vitro cell-based characterization.

We are seeking a Principal Scientist who is expected to lead, design and execute preclinical scientific studies, with the goal of generating and testing new vaccine candidates. We are looking for a highly motivated scientist, with proven record in utilizing the most up to date molecular biology and cell biology techniques in a high-throughput environment.

This role will report directly to the RNA Research and Rapid Response Lab Head and will play a significant role in executing high profile projects allowing for substantial exposure to cross functional teams working within the RNA vaccines CoE matrix team, and to the senior leadership.

Main Core Responsibilities:

• Lead the design, planning, organization and analysis of scientific studies to generate and test new mRNA vaccine candidates
• To provide expertise in the areas of DNA synthesis, DNA cloning, in vitro RNA transcription and cell-based assay characterization of vaccine candidates, with special emphasis on high-throughput DNA synthesis, plasmid DNA templates cloning and in vitro RNA production.
• Utilize high-throughput workflows for molecular biology and cell biology processes to generate and characterize vaccine candidates
• Lead and work with other scientists to design and develop new assays and technologies to support RNA vaccine generation and evaluation

The successful applicant will spend 1-3 months within the first year in Rockville, MD to support and guarantee a smooth transition of methods and know-how to the new laboratories in Cambridge, MA. 

Basic Qualifications:

• PhD degree in life sciences with 3+ years of post-doc and/or job related experience or Masters with at least 5 years of experience
• Two or more years of experience operating liquid-handling robotics systems (Tecan, Hamilton, Echo, etc.)
• Two or more years of experience in molecular and RNA biology and cloning, including Gibson assembly, golden gate assembly mutagenesis, RNA production and purification
• One or more years of experience with common molecular biology software, e.g. Geneious, and adept at analyzing large volumes of sequencing data

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in high-throughput RNA in vitro transcription techniques and familiarity with RNA based vaccine technology
• Experience in phosphoramidite chemistry for oligo synthesis
• Experience in operation and maintenance of microfluidic instrumentation
• Experience in the setup, maintenance, and operation of multi-instrument robotics workflows
• Familiarity with AWS cloud computing

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