Scientist, Bioscience Immunology, Early Respiratory and Immunology (level C)

Our expanding Bioscience Immunology group at AstraZeneca is looking for an experienced lab-based Scientist. The candidate will help support development of novel therapies from concept to preclinical work. This drug discovery research position will support and collaborate with a research team to identify and validate disease-modifying molecular targets and support the progression of drug development projects to clinic. Areas of primary disease interest include gastro- and rheumatological immune diseases. Areas of research biology interest include understanding of myeloid/T cell/B cell autoimmune regulation, tissue damage/repair and autoimmune disease modeling.

Location: Gaithersburg, MD

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

As a Scientist you will have a unique opportunity to contribute to the success of AZ Bioscience Immunology drug discovery pipeline. You will conduct hands-on primary cell culturing, immune functional assays and phenotyping. You will manipulate and characterize immune primary cells and cell lines, design and conduct laboratory experiments, develop methodology, generate, and interpret scientific data, and communicate results to manager and team members. It is also expected that at the Scientist level you maintain level of expertise through evaluation of scientific literature and apply and interprets principles, theories, concepts and techniques in immunology and drug discovery field.

Essential Skills:

– PhD degree with 0-1 years of working experience, or master’s degree plus 2-3 years of experience in Immunology or related discipline.
– Strong hands-on skills in in vitro immunology, including immune cell isolation, culture and functional assays, basic biochemical and molecular techniques, including quantification of mRNA (qPCR) and protein expression, ELISA, Western Blotting, and Flow Cytometry assays.
– Ability to plan your time effectively and efficiently.
– Ability of multi-task.
– Self-motivated and highly organized, with the ability to work independently as well as collaboratively within a team to conduct a high-level research project.
– Attention to detail and excellent ability to summarize, record, and present research findings
– High level of enthusiasm for innovative scientific research leading to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics.

Desirable Skills:

– A research background in human immunology, immune-mediated diseases (for example lupus, arthritis, intestinal bowel disease), and translational approaches to understanding basic biological mechanisms in disease is highly desired.
– Biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry experience is preferred.

** Key notes from the hiring manager:
First thing the manager will look for is if the candidate is a lab-based scientist who has real life experience with:
1) human (not mouse) primary immune cell isolation, handling and in vitro culturing.
2) functional assays (cell proliferation, migration, activation- any kind) 
 

9391507