Associate Director, Discovery Biology

The Discovery Biology team will be part of a multi-disciplinary effort focused on bringing forward innovative cancer drug therapies. The Discovery Biology Associate Director will be responsible for leading a research team to identify the next generation of molecular targets for cancer therapeutics. Experience in either functional genomics or chemical biology is required. The Associate Director will lead the discovery and early validation of oncology targets through close collaborations with other discovery and translational functions.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Position

Lead cross-functional teams that will be responsible for novel target discovery and validation including Discovery Biology team members in SSF and NYC
Supervise and mentor PhD and non-PhD scientists engaged in target identification and validation to think deeply and work creatively while delivering excellent scientific results and insights to the project teams and their colleagues
Develop and implement strategies that will enable Discovery Biology team members to continually advance internal drug development efforts through our discovery, clinical and research programs
Innovate technologies and methods to advance our discovery projects particularly in the area of gene editing/functional genomics and or chemical biology
Engage leaders across Loxo Oncology at Lilly to identify, credential, and advance new targets and serve as a liaison for the Discovery Biology team and the company at large
Contribute to due diligence evaluation of external opportunities
Mentor post-doctoral fellows

Required Qualifications and Background

PhD in systems biology, molecular & cellular biology, chemical biology, or related field
Minimum of 5-10 years research experience following post-doctoral training with prior experience in target discovery/credentialing and cancer biology in the biotech or pharma setting
Extensive experience in the areas of cancer biology and cancer genomics
Demonstrated track record of success in leveraging functional genomics or chemical biology platforms
Demonstrated evidence for the ability to partner with computational biologists to leverage systems-scale datasets
Expertise in designing and commissioning studies using a variety of research tools in cancer cell lines and murine models of cancer
Experience in leading PhD level scientists
Outstanding communication, writing, and presentation skills is a must
Highly organized with excellent analytical, documentation and multi-tasking skills
Provide strategic input to target identification and validation strategy to leadership team
Ability to collaborate, lead, and influence others

Additional Preferred Qualifications

Hands on experience executing functional genomics screens or deploying chemical biology tools
Experience working with external CROs to optimize internal/external resources