Who We Are
EvolveImmune Therapeutics is a next-generation immunotherapy platform company based in the Yale/New Haven biotechnology ecosystem with laboratories in Branford and Farmington, CT. EvolveImmune is harnessing its ‘Immunology First’ approach to create first-in-category cancer medicines which aim to transform the lives of patients by delivering superior, long-term outcomes compared to current anti-cancer therapies. The EvolveImmune team has established a first-in-class and highly differentiated tumor-targeted T cell costimulation platform designed to re-invigorate adaptive immune responses in solid tumors. In addition, building upon research that originated from the Sidi Chen Laboratory at Yale University, EvolveImmune is leveraging a novel in vivo CRISPR-based target discovery platform to develop a broad portfolio of first-in-class therapeutics for unmet needs in oncology and immune diseases.
The Role
We are seeking a Senior Scientist to join Protein Biotherapeutic group and contribute to a team effort to develop next-generation immunotherapies for effective cancer treatment. The core focus of this group is to use a multi-disciplinary approach to identify and validate tumor intrinsic, tumor micro-environment or immune cell targets tractable to therapeutic targeting, discover antibodies that selectively bind to these targets and use these antibodies to develop novel immunotherapeutic platforms that engage immune cells for efficient antitumor response.
A qualified candidate is a highly motivated and creative individual with substantial experience in protein biochemistry, protein/antibody expression and purification from mammalian cells using state of the art chromatography systems. A successful candidate will be responsible for protein and vector engineering, extensive molecular biology, tissue culture and cell biology work including, protein expression/purification, biophysical characterization, HT cloning, PCR/qPCR, cell line engineering and stable cell line generation. The candidate will also work closely with other members of the Biotherapeutic and Biology team members and contribute to protein/antibody expression and purification, biophysical characterizations, and target validation.
The successful candidate will collaborate with the Immune Discovery team for functional evaluation of the therapeutics leads using human PBMC or enriched human immune cell co-cultures assays to evaluate tumor-immune cell engagement, cytokine release profiles and immune phenotype assessment.
The successful candidate will be a clear communicator as well as effective collaborator, will demonstrate professional verbal and written communication, be capable of presenting scientific results to multidisciplinary teams and will contribute to writing scientific publications.
The colleague will interact with contract research organization (CROs) representatives, technician scientists in industry and academic centers and organizational leaders to contribute to highly integrative drug discovery and development effort.
We are looking for candidates who enjoy working in a team and can leverage the growth opportunities that a matrixed environment provides. This is an exceptional opportunity for someone who is excited about drug discovery and development and is driven to translate our discoveries into novel therapeutics.
Responsibilities
- Protein/antibody expression and purification from mammalian cells using affinity chromatography and size exclusion/IEX chromatography.
- Protein/antibody and bispecific antibody engineering, and expression vector engineering (transient and stable expression).
- Support biophysical characterization of proteins and antibodies using state of the art technologies for binding kinetics (SPR/BLI) and for biophysical properties ( DSC, CE, ELISA and other advanced molecular biology techniques).
- Tissue culture, cell line engineering, and stable cell line generation.
- Work in a team effort to establish biophysical and cell-based assays for antibody prioritization toward lead selection.
- Support target validation efforts by high throughput variable heavy and variable light chain antibody sequence cloning and reformatting, protein design and engineering.
- Collaborate and develop close scientific partnership with other functional areas across different teams.
- Help build a culture that embraces scientific excellence and continuous learning to increase our team’s ability to deliver novel drug development opportunities through rapid incorporation of emerging biotechniques on the leading-edge of oncology drug discovery.
- This role is a full time, in-person position in EvolveImmune’s laboratories in Branford CT.
Qualifications
Basic Qualifications
- PhD in Molecular Biology/Biochemistry/Cancer Biology or related discipline with at least 1-3 years industry experience; or MS in Molecular Biology/Cancer Biology/Biochemistry or related discipline with 3-5 years of industry experience.
- Ability to learn new techniques quickly and follow established protocols with precision.
- Perform tasks independently and able to interpret and communicate results.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills.
- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work in team-based environment
Preferred Qualifications
- Strong hands-on experience in antibody expression/purification using affinity chromatography, SEC/IEX/HIC (AKTA FPLC Avant/Pure).
- Strong hands-on experience in Protein/antibody/bispecific antibody engineering and vector engineering.
- Proficient in biophysical characterization of protein/antibody using state of the art technologies including SPR (Biacore), BLI (Octet), DSC, aSEC/HIC/IEX (Agilent HPLC systems), LabChip (cGE), SDS-PAGE gel, ELISA.
- Proficiency in advanced molecular cloning techniques (infusion cloning/Gateway cloning), tissue culture techniques, cell line engineering, and stable cell line generation.
- Experience in protein display technologies such as phage display and/or yeast display, along with hands-on experience in library creation is a plus.
- In depth knowledge in immunology, immunooncology and immune cell biology is a plus
Physical/Mental Requirements
- Ability to perform complex and automated sequence and assay data analysis
- Must be able to wear personal protective equipment and adhere to biological safety consideration of the laboratory environment as defined by laboratory manager or group Directors.
- Must be able to handle mouse derived and human cell lines, and tissues.
- There will be less than 5% travel.
Other
EvolveImmune Therapeutics requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
EvolveImmune Therapeutics is an equal opportunity employer.
Principals only.
Qualified applicants should apply using this link.