Research Scientist II - PRISM Molecular Biology Assay Development Lead

Job Description

The mission of the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard is to transform medicine by dramatically accelerating the understanding and treatment of disease. The Broad creates a vibrant research environment with close links to top academic institutions including Harvard, MIT, and the Harvard hospitals. We are looking for a talented and highly motivated molecular biologist to lead our Assay Development team in the PRISM group.

The PRISM technology allows us to routinely profile up to tens of thousands of small molecules against hundreds of cancer cell lines and has enabled data collection at an unprecedented scale. Combined with the wealth of genomic characterization of these cell lines, we are able to utilize machine learning tools to predict genomic features of sensitivity to compounds at a very early stage of drug discovery projects. We are deploying this technology for several large screening efforts as well as engaging multiple academic labs, pharmaceutical companies, and biotech companies to help discover new cancer biology.

As the Assay Development lead, you will be responsible for managing a multidisciplinary team and building robust assays. Your primary responsibilities will include optimizing and improving the PRISM Luminex assay, developing a high throughput 384-well sequencing assay, and developing a high throughput SNP demultiplexing assay. Future work will include developing novel ways to detect a mixture of cancer cell lines in one well from culture media through in vivo experiments.

In this role, you will be expected to have a broad molecular biology background with expertise in multiple sequencing methods. You will have experience with automation and high-throughput screening. You will be extremely organized, have a high attention to detail and high quality standards. You will be able to design, execute, and interpret experiments as part of a team and need to have great communication and delegation skills.

The Broad Institute provides a vibrant research environment with close links to top academic institutions across the Boston Area and provides the potential for your contributions to be used and recognized worldwide.

Characteristic Duties:

• Mentor and manage a multidisciplinary team of a research associate, an associate computational biologist and a process development associate
  
• Build robust assays with clear standard operating procedures that enable junior personnel can follow, including multiple quality control metrics throughout the assay
  
• Responsible for taking methods or processes from pilot phase through implementation
  
• Troubleshooting assays when they are not working
  
• Research and pilot novel detection methods for PRISM
  
• Analyze and interpret results from experiments
  
• Make significant contributions to scientific papers
  
• Use excellent communication skills to interact professionally with all levels of staff and with internal departmental contacts, as well as external collaborators, in a fast-paced environment
  
• Present at internal meetings on our team, within the Cancer Program, and other groups
  
• Work with collaborators on developing new detection methods
  

Requirements

• PhD in Molecular Biology, Biological Engineering, or Biology with 2 years of experience or M.S. with 5+ years of related experience required or B.S. with 8 years of related experience
  
• Basic computational experience (e.g., in R) preferred
  
• Must possess strong interpersonal, communication and organizational skills
  
• Excellent‌ ‌experimental‌ ‌skills‌ ‌and‌ ‌a‌ ‌strong‌ ‌background‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌latest‌ ‌molecular‌ ‌biology‌ ‌and‌ ‌genomics‌ ‌methodologies‌ ‌
  
• Excellent‌ ‌critical‌ ‌thinking‌ ‌and‌ ‌analytical‌ ‌skills‌ ‌
  
• Must have a thorough understanding of genetics, genomics, and cell biology
  

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

EEO is The Law - click here for more information

Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Women/Protected Veterans/Disabled
Check out this video for a look into our community!Summary

• Location: Cambridge, MA
• Type: Full time