Senior Scientist II, Drug Screening

About the Department                                                                                                                                               

As part of the establishment of our R&D Hub in greater Boston, Novo Nordisk is growing its efforts within Small Molecular and Cross Modality Research. A cornerstone of this is the expansion of our capabilities in assay development and screening to support the validation of drug targets and advance drug research programs that address unmet needs of patients living with chronic diseases. Building on our success in delivering treatments for diabetes and obesity, and their cardiometabolic complications as well as rare diseases, we are growing our teams and technological capabilities to explore new drug targets and to pursue novel therapies across a range of modalities.

In growing Novo Nordisk R&D presence in Greater Boston, we seek to bring together our 100-year heritage and experience with the unparalleled Boston innovation ecosystem. In Vitro Pharmacology team is part of Chemical Biology department situated within Small Molecule and Cross Modality Research area. We are part of Therapeutics Discovery, a key pillar of Novo Nordisk’s R&D organization, working on projects across all therapeutic areas. Chemical Biology multidisciplinary department brings together scientists specializing in molecular and cell biology, in vitro pharmacology, molecular interactions, bioanalysis, peptide chemistry, and protein engineering and characterization. We are currently expanding our in vitro pharmacology capabilities to help drive early research programs from ideas to lead candidates, both internally and in collaboration with Novo Nordisk’s external partners. You will become part of a vibrant, science-focused team so we can together drive innovation.

We work closely with biologists and in vivo pharmacologists driving projects within our core therapeutic areas, as well as computational scientists and other functions co-located in Lexington. Being part of a team of leading scientists and innovators, you will get an opportunity to 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 lives of millions of people living with diabetes, obesity and cardiometabolic complications. Join us in our pioneering research, together we can make a difference!

The Position

In your role as Senior Scientist II – Drug Screening within In Vitro Pharmacology team you will be responsible for development of cell-based assays for emerging targets and functional screening of drug candidates to guide candidate design and selection. You will be involved in projects focused primarily on small molecules and peptides as well as conjugates of these with other modalities, including biologics and oligonucleotides. Your role will be to define and execute early screening strategies to ensure identification of hits with desired in vitro potency, efficacy and selectivity, and further optimization of structure-activity relationships. Your contribution will include evaluating and implementing new molecular and cellular in vitro pharmacology assay tools, techniques and protocols, recommending new solutions and enhancing our mechanistic biology, compound screening and automation capabilities. You will contribute with your in vitro biology and molecular pharmacology subject matter expertise as a member of interdisciplinary project teams. You will be working together with researchers representing a variety of scientific disciplines key for early-stage drug discovery. Your results will be essential for driving project team activities and informing key decisions regarding project progression.

As a member of project teams, you will be responsible for driving projects as an individual contributor, with opportunities to serve as a project lead and/or subject-specific coordinator. You will be relied upon to set your own direction and work independently with minimal guidance from your manager or other senior colleagues, including hands-on responsibility for taking on challenging tasks where you will be expected to exhibit creativity and an ability to solve complex problems. To achieve this, you will conduct relevant research of primary scientific literature, internal records, and other databases, as well as draw upon your internal and external scientific network to obtain knowledge, advice, and/or experimental protocols. You will contribute experimentally by exploring cell signaling mechanisms and coming up with new ways of quanti