Associate Principal Scientist - Immunology Job

Associate Principal Scientist - Immunology-BIO004578

Description

Merck & Co., Inc. Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A. known as Merck in the United States and Canada, is a global health care leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products. Today, we are building a new kind of healthcare company – one that is ready to help create a healthier future for all of us.

Our ability to excel depends on the integrity, knowledge, imagination, skill, diversity and teamwork of an individual like you. To this end, we strive to create an environment of mutual respect, encouragement and teamwork. As part of our global team, you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with talented and dedicated colleagues while developing and expanding your career.


We are seeking a highly motivated, independent, and skilled research scientist to join the Immunology Discovery team at Merck in Boston. With limited supervision, s/he will be responsible for designing, executing, and reporting the results of experiments to support and advance projects from target identification and validation through to clinical candidate selection, as well as supporting the development and clinical pipelines with basic biology and pharmacology studies. S/he will use a wide range of advanced methodologies to define drug potency and mechanism(s)-of-action, primarily through in vitro and ex vivo cell-based immunological assays in both mouse and human systems. Broad expertise in immunobiology is required for this role, with preference given to candidates with demonstrated experience in drug discovery and development. S/he will have excellent oral and written communication skills, work well independently and as part of a team, and be able to contribute to multiple projects simultaneously. The selected candidate will not have immediate direct line management responsibilities and is expected to work at the bench as needed in coordination with support from junior research scientists.

Qualifications

Education:

- Ph.D. in immunology, cell biology, pharmacology, or related field with relevant post-doctoral training; at least 2 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry is preferred, however applicants in academic leadership roles will also be considered. Candidates should provide clear evidence of scientific productivity, as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications in top-tier journals and/or by demonstrable achievements in an industrial environment.

Required:

- Solid training and background in cellular immunology, preferably with area expertise in one or more of the following: autoimmunity & inflammation, immuno-oncology, infectious disease (including familiarity with associated rodent pre-clinical models).
- Ability to independently design, perform and interpret data derived from cellular immune function assays (e.g., differentiation, proliferation, cytotoxicity, cytokine production).
- Broad expertise and familiarity with assays and technologies commonly used to assess immune endpoints (e.g., MLR, antigen-specific T/APC cultures; ELISA/ELISPOT, Mesoscale, Luminex; qPCR, NanoString); solid cell line and primary immune cell tissue culture skills.
- Experience in multi-parameter FACS analysis (e.g., BD LSR/Canto, MACSQuant) and proficiency in downstream FACS data analysis programs such as FlowJo, FACSDiva, or FCS Express; experience with cell separation technologies (e.g., magnetic bead-based isolation or FACS-based sorting).
- Ability to organize and communicate complex data sets in a clear and concise manner to key stakeholders from diverse backgrounds.
- Ability to contribute at a scientific and strategic level to drug discovery research programs in immunology, including proposal and identification/validation of novel targets.
- S/he should be a strong team player with excellent oral and written communication skills and a demonstrated ability to work independently to design experiments, generate and interpret data, troubleshoot, and suggest next steps.

Preferred:

- Experience directing and coordinating work with external academic or industry partners, or with contract research organizations.
- Demonstrated project lead experience in an academic or industrial research setting.
- Demonstrated experience mentoring and training junior scientists.
- Proven experience with biologics drug discovery and demonstrable knowledge of multiple large molecule formats and associated technologies.
- Experience with in vivo immune-mechanistic or autoimmune/cancer disease models in the mouse system and their application towards pharmacological assessment of drug efficacy and mode-of-action.
- Demonstrable experience with in vitro pharmacology assays involving large or small molecule drugs, e.g., experimental design and replication, titration and potency value determination, etc.
- Experience with isolation, characterization, and functional testing of primary human immune cells from healthy donors or disease patient-derived materials.
- Genetic engineering of reporter cell lines and/or primary cells: molecular biology skills (e.g., plasmid manipulation and transfection, clonal selection) and experience with gene editing technologies (e.g., si/shRNA and CRISPR/Cas9 via transfection or retroviral delivery).

(US/Puerto Rico Only) In accordance with Managers' Policy - Job Posting and Employee Placement, all employees subject to this policy are required to have a minimum of twelve (12) months of service in current position prior to applying for open positions.

If you have been offered a separation benefits package, but have not yet reached your separation date and are offered a position within the salary and geographical parameters as set forth in the Summary Plan Description (SPD) of your separation package, then you are no longer eligible for your separation benefits package. If you have any questions, please contact your HRBP or Staffing Consultant.



Merck is an equal opportunity employer, Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran – proudly embracing diversity in all of its manifestations.


Job: Biology-Discovery

Job Title:Assoc Prin. Scientist, Biology-Discovery

Primary Location: NA-US-MA-Boston

Employee Status: Regular

Travel: No

Number of Openings: 1

Shift (if applicable): 1st

Hazardous Materials: primary human blood work; limited chemical use, such as formaldehyde solutions for cell fixation; potential limited use of radioactivity (tritiated thymidine).

Company Trade Name:Merck