Research Associate/ Sr. Research Associate (Vector Genome)

About Voyager Therapeutics 
Voyager Therapeutics (Nasdaq: VYGR) is a biotechnology company dedicated to breaking through barriers in gene therapy and neurology. The potential of both disciplines has been constrained by delivery challenges; Voyager is leveraging cutting-edge expertise in capsid discovery and deep neuropharmacology capabilities to address these constraints. Voyager’s TRACER™ AAV capsid discovery platform has generated novel capsids with high target delivery and blood-brain barrier penetration at low doses, potentially addressing the narrow therapeutic window associated with conventional gene therapy delivery vectors. This platform is fueling alliances with Pfizer Inc., Novartis Pharma AG, Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., and Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc., as well as multiple programs in Voyager’s own pipeline. Voyager’s pipeline includes wholly owned and collaborative preclinical programs in Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, and other diseases of the central nervous system, with a focus on validated targets and biomarkers to enable a path to rapid potential proof-of-biology. For more information, visit www.voyagertherapeutics.com

Job Overview:  Voyager Therapeutics seeks a highly motivated and experienced molecular and cell biologist to contribute to its research team at its facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The candidate will be involved in design and evaluation of transgenes for our cutting-edge portfolio programs. The candidate will also help design and execute in vitro assays for POC studies in various cell culture models. This is an ideal position for an individual with extensive hands-on cellular and molecular biology expertise, who has a can-do attitude and strong work ethic, and thrives in a team-oriented, fast-paced, and cross-disciplinary biotech environment.

Responsibilities:

• Molecular cloning and preparation rAAV transgene and capsid constructs
• Maintain and culture mammalian cell lines, perform transient transfection for gene expression or AAV vector production at a small scale
• Perform small-scale protein purification using affinity chromatography
• Perform AAV vector purification, evaluate AAV vector quality by qPCR, silver staining and denaturing gel
• Characterize transgene expression in cells and animal tissues using Western blot, ELISA or Enzymatic assays
• Process animal tissues for genomic DNA and RNA extraction
• Execute and troubleshoot standard protocols, adapt new protocols into practice
• Maintain electronic laboratory notebooks, write study reports, and present data to the team

Educational Requirements & Experience:

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree with 4-5 years of experience in an industry or academic setting or a Master’s degree with 2-3 years of wet lab experience
• Hands-on experience in molecular biology techniques (RNA/DNA isolation, molecular cloning, plasmid purification, Western blotting, qPCR, RT-qPCR, ELISA)
• Ability to design and execute experiments, analyze and present the results
• Ability to be highly productive in a fluid, fast-paced and team-oriented environment
• Outstanding problem-solving skills and ability to handle multiple tasks in parallel
• Self-motivated, ability to work collaboratively, highly organized with attention to detail
• Excellent communication and presentation skills

Strongly Preferred (Optional) –

• Prior experience in Next-Gen Sequencing operation would be a plus
• Prior experience in establishing transwell models would be a plus