Research Associate, Biology

Job DescriptionLocation: US-MA-Cambridge
ID: 2020-1352
# of Openings : 1
Category: Research & Development
Address: 10 Wilson Road

Overview

Deerfield Management is an investment management firm committed to improving healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy. We have just launched a new company called Civetta Therapeutics located in Cambridge, MA that was founded by William Sellers (Broad Institute and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute) and Eric Fischer (Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School). We are looking to engage a high-quality team of researchers to advance new medicines through small molecule intervention targeting propeller domains with the goal of developing important therapeutics for cancer and other indications. If you are a talented life sciences professional that can bring significant energy, passion and talent to the team, we welcome the opportunity to consider you for a position in this exciting, new company committed to thorough, mechanistically-driven science.

The position

The Research Associate / Associate Scientist will be an integral member of the Biology team at Civetta Therapeutics. The Biology team is responsible for identifying and validating molecular targets, evaluating novel drug candidates, and providing forward-thinking approaches to advance our pre-clinical pipeline and proprietary platform. The Research Associate / Associate Scientist will be responsible for designing and conducting cellular assays, determining the potency and mechanism of action of small molecule compounds, and contributing to the build-out of the platform technology. This is a hands-on position for an experienced lab scientist who enjoys working in the lab. The Research Associate / Associate Scientist must have excellent communication skills and be able to work with a positive attitude in a dynamic, fast-paced, team environment focused on high quality science to propel us in delivering innovative cancer therapeutics.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities

• Create, develop and validate quantitative cell-based assays to address mechanistic and functional needs for pipeline projects and platform
• Establish and conduct robust screening assays to support lead optimization programs
• Spend at least 85% of one's time at the bench
• Collaborate with colleagues in the cross-functional project team setting to ensure assays meet the project needs and results are appropriately interpreted and communicated
• Participate in meetings to identify and solve problems, guide work towards project goals, communicate on-going work and progress, and plan forward thinking strategies
• Maintains laboratory notebook in a complete, consistent and concise manner in accordance with company policies and practices

Qualifications

Qualifications

• BS/MS in Molecular/Cellular Biology or Biochemistry with 2-6 years of hands-on cell biology experience in a biotech/pharma setting.
• Extensive experience with mammalian cell culture; creating, developing, and running cellular assays.
• Expertise in engineering cell lines to express or knock-down genes of interest, and interrogating biological pathways using chemical biology tools. Experience with CRISPR gene editing and functional genomics screening is strongly preferred but not required.
• Experience with general molecular biological techniques including molecular cloning, PCR, RT-qPCR, ELISA, proximity-based assays, immunoprecipitations, Western blotting.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to communicate and interact well with colleagues, vendors, CROs, and scientific advisors.
• Highly organized with excellent analytical, documentation and multi-tasking skills.
• Enthusiastic, self-motivated individual wanting to work in the fast-paced and dynamic environment of a startup.

William Sellers is a core institute member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, and faculty member and senior advisor to the president for experimental therapeutics at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Eric Fischer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School and an Independent Investigator, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Civetta Therapeutics provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to religion, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, alienage or citizenship status, national origin, age, marital status, pregnancy, disability, veteran or military status, predisposing genetic characteristics or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

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