Director, Disease Biology

Kelly Science and Clinical is the world's most recognized brand in science and clinical staffing with more than 100 locations in North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. Our scientists contribute to the research and development of the next generation of small molecule drugs, biologics, and cellular therapies.

We seek a Director, Disease Biology to build the disease biology research group with one of our clients, a start-up biotech company that is committed to bringing first-in-class medicine for unmet medical needs in the areas of immuno-oncology, autoimmune diseases, fibrosis, and aging-related diseases.

Specifically, the individual will build a research group dedicated to developing next-generation immunotherapy for cancer patients (e.g., gastric and liver cancer), autoimmune disease (e.g., IBD, RA, AS, and AS), and fibrosis (NASH and Cirrhosis). The successful candidate will work closely with external research collaborators (KOLs and medical institutes), internal bioinformaticians, data scientists, and a high-throughput functional validation team to carry large-scale translational studies in the above disease areas. The individual will lead the team to understand the underlying MOA of disease biology and treatment resistance, identify and validate novel therapeutic targets through systematic data mining, and subsequent in vitro and in vivo functional validation experiments.

The candidate has the opportunity to work in a fast-paced, highly collaborative startup setting with long-term, extensive funding support. The scientist has the opportunity to work with world-renowned biologists, clinicians, computational biologists, and AI experts to reshape every step of the drug development process.

Responsibilities:

• To define the company's overall strategy for disease indications, therapeutic targets, and product pipelines.
• To oversee the company's disease research programs, including but not limited to leading large-scale translational studies, drug target identification, and validation.
• To collaborate with other functional teams to accelerate the hit-to-lead drug discovery process.
• To participate in scientific discussion and business decision-making related to collaboration and co-development programs.
• To publish research results in peer-review journals.
• To co-author future filing documents with regulatory agencies.

Qualifications:

• Ph.D., MD, or Ph.D./MD degree in immunology, cell biology, cancer biology, or related field
• With extensive experience in human immunology, cancer immunotherapy, or translational research in the related field
• Ability to play a strong leadership role for cross-functional collaboration with partners in genomics, AI, high-throughput assay, and drug design teams
• Minimum of 10 years of translational research experience in either academic and/or industry settings (industry experience is preferred). Minimum 5 years of people management experience. Ability to collaborate, lead, influence, motivate and mentor others.
• Demonstrated record of cutting-edge research in disease biology as evidenced by solid first or senior author publications, patent record or FDA filing experience
• Experience in antibody drug development is a plus
• Ability to communicate in Mandarin is preferred