Senior Research Associate, Drug Discovery Biology

Senior Research Associate, Drug Discovery Biology 

About the role

We are seeking an agile, innovative and highly motivated cell and molecular biologist with experience in small molecule drug discovery to join our team. With a track record of contributing to multidisciplinary drug discovery teams, this position will play a critical role in driving Treeline’s portfolio forward.  You will work closely with other biologists, medicinal and computational chemists, structural biologists, biochemists, biophysicists and data scientists to test therapeutic hypotheses and enable progress of drug discovery programs. You will also play a key role in the validation and selection of the next generation of oncology targets using cellular and molecular biology, genetics, functional genomics, and various state-of-the-art scientific approaches.

About you

You thrive in a fast-paced and matrixed discovery environment requiring scientific curiosity and rigor. With a drive to succeed, you are self-motivated, innovative, detail-oriented, and a critical thinker who enjoys multidisciplinary collaborations to tackle difficult scientific challenges and move programs forward.

Responsibilities

• Develop tool assets to advance drug discovery projects by establishing engineered cell lines using a variety of techniques (CRISPR endogenous gene editing, over-expression, knock-down and knock-out).
• Execute a variety of cellular and molecular techniques to validate and characterize genetic or small molecule perturbations of targets and downstream pathways.
• Build and execute cell-based assay cascades to support drug discovery campaigns and mechanism of action studies.
• Develop and execute cell-based SAR-enabling drug discovery assays to identify and characterize small-molecule modulators using various assay technologies, such as AlphaScreen, TR-FRET, MSD, BRET, qPCR and ELISA.
• Run SAR assays and analyze/QC datasets to rapidly drive the hit-to-lead and lead optimization processes in close collaboration with the chemistry, biochemistry/biophysics, structural biology, and medicine design teams.
• Design and conduct well controlled high-quality scientific experiments to test biological hypotheses.
• Maintain an electronic lab notebook in compliance with company policies.
• Contribute to building a culture that embraces continuous learning and improvement.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in biology, biochemistry, pharmacology or related discipline with at least 3-4 years of industry experience.
• Previous experience in small molecule drug discovery and SAR exploration in a biotech/pharma setting strongly preferred.
• Experience in mammalian cell culture, cell-based assays, mechanistic investigation using chemical and genetic tools and cell line engineering using RNAi and CRISPR.
• Experience with general cellular and molecular biological techniques, e.g. molecular cloning, qPCR, MSD, HTRF, cell proliferation and cell death, proximity-based assays, Western blotting, immunoprecipitation.
• Strong knowledge and understanding of cancer signaling pathways, protein homeostasis, and regulation of gene expression.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, excellent interpersonal skills, with demonstrated ability to work collaboratively on cross-functional, multidisciplinary teams.
• Self-motivated individual who can thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic and collaborative startup environment with the ability to multitask.
• Experience in developing/performing flow cytometry-based assays is preferred but not required.
• Experience with automation and HTS is preferred but not required.

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