Senior/Principal Research Associate (Histology)

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 Summary:

The Senior/Principal Research Associate, Histology is a highly motivated biologist that contributes to the Voyager research team. The individual helps the group conduct innovative drug discover research while meeting deadlines and company goals. They are enthusiastic about biomedical research and work collaboratively with other scientists and team members.

Position Specific Responsibilities:

• Handle and process fresh frozen and fixed nervous- and peripheral-tissues from rodents, non-human primates, and human
• Develop and perform novel tissue-based staining methodologies immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence (IF), and in-situ hybridization (ISH) assay development (including use of automated equipment [Leica Bond])
• Knowledge of subsequent image acquisition and qualitative or quantitative analysis of stained tissues
• Present the histology data in program or research group meetings
• Contribute to experimental design, planning, and execution of research projects
• Ability to adapt and exercise flexibility for projects and workflows
• Ability to collaborate with project team members and peers to anticipate and resolve day-to-day issues working in a matrix organizational structure
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, desire to learn new techniques and contribute to projects

Specialized Knowledge & Skills:

• Knowledge and working experience with the anatomy of brain and spinal cord of rodents, non-human primates, and human is strongly preferred
• Familiarity with newer histology-based precision profiling techniques and data analysis (eg. Nanostring’s Digital Spatial Profiling or Spatial Molecular Imager, in-situ sequencing, MERFISH or Visium spatial transcriptomics)
• Working knowledge of statistical programs (eg. JMP, GraphPad Prism) and general programming languges (Python, R)
• Exhibit excellent oral and written communication skills

Requirements:

Educational Requirements:

• Senior Research Associate: BS with 3+ years or MS with 2+ years of relevant industry experience
• Principal Research Associate: BS with 5+ years or MS with 3+ years of relevant industry experience

Experience:

• Knowledge and working experience with the anatomy of brain and spinal cord of rodents, non-human primates, and human
• Experience with using IHC/ISH automated staining systems preferably Leica BondRx or Ventana Discovery Ultra
• Experience in image acquisition using; whole slide scanners ( Olympus VS 200 or Aperio Versa, GT450), epifluorescence and confocal microscopy
• Experience and knowledge of relevant image analysis software packages: HALO, HALO-AI, ImageScope, Visiopharm and their corresponding AI machine/deep-learning modules, spatial analyses, and heat maps.