Senior Associate Scientist, Biology

This is what you will do:

We are seeking a dedicated and innovative Senior Associate Scientist or Scientistto join our Genomic Medicine group at Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease. The successful candidate will be a key member of the Alexion Genomic Medicine Cardiology team. The group’s mission is to discover and deliver transformational genomic medicines to patients with rare genetic cardiomyopathies. We are looking for a candidate with a background in cellular and molecular biology.

In this role, you will be mainly responsible for developing and implementing a range of molecular and functional assays to assess the disease process, discover new medicines, and evaluate their therapeutic potential using human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (HiPSC-CMs). Additionally, you will be part of cross-functional teams and state of the art technology cores, and your scientific contributions will help advance Alexion’s preclinical programs to the clinic.

You will be responsible for:

• Developing and characterizing induced pluripotent stem cell lines that carry disease-relevant mutations. Differentiation of these lines into cardiomyocytes.
• Development and implementation of molecular and functional assays that capture aspects of the disease phenotype associated with the relevant mutations. Ultimately, these assays will be used to evaluate novel genomic medicine therapeutics.
• Collaborating within multi-functional teams pursuing both in vitro and in vivo (mammalian) work.
• Documenting experimental design and results in an electronic lab notebook.
• Presenting data to the team, unit, or external stakeholders.
• Keeping abreast of recent advancements in scientific literature.

You will need to have:

• Bachelor’s degree in Biology (or equivalent) with 3+ years of working experience in academia or industry
• Master’s degree in Biology (or equivalent) with 1-2 years of working experience in academia or industry
• Experience designing and optimizing molecular and immunoassays including ddPCR, RT-qPCR, Western blot, ELISA, MSD, and flow cytometry.
• Proficiency with mammalian cell culture, transfection, and gene delivery including AAV, lentivirus, and adenovirus.
• Use of scientific databases and applications for data management and analysis (Microsoft Office 365, GraphPad Prism, SoftMax Pro, FlowJo).
• Collaborate with team members across disciplines to support portfolio.
• Maintain a detailed, contemporaneous record of experiments and results in accordance with company standards.
• Strong attention to detail, critical thinking skills, ability to multitask and prioritize activities, and effective written and verbal communication skills.

We would prefer for you to have:

• Experience with culturing iPSCs or engineering cell lines.
• Experience with functional live cell readouts.
• In vivo experience including rodent handling, dosing, ex vivo tissue processing, and histology.

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working give us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That’s why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn’t mean we’re not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world. 

AstraZeneca requires all US employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 but will consider requests for reasonable accommodations as required by applicable law.

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.

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