Staff Scientist, T Cell Therapeutics Manufacturing

About City of Hope

City of Hope, an innovative biomedical research, treatment and educational institution with over 6,000 employees, is dedicated to the prevention and cure of cancer and other life-threatening diseases and guided by a compassionate, patient-centered philosophy.

Founded in 1913 and headquartered in Duarte, California, City of Hope is a remarkable non-profit institution, where compassion and advanced care go hand-in-hand with excellence in clinical and scientific research. City of Hope is a National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation's leading cancer centers that develops and institutes standards of care for cancer treatment.

Position Summary

A position of Staff Scientist is open at the Laboratory for Cellular Medicine (LCM), Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute at the City of Hope. The candidate will work in a well-established group of scientists and technical staff from the Center for Gene Therapy and the T Cell Therapeutics Research Laboratory. These centers perform cutting-edge research and clinical trials of gene and stem cell therapy, including first-in-human studies of CAR T-cell immunotherapy and genome-editing of hematopoietic stem cells.

Under direction of the Principal Investigators, the Staff Scientist is responsible for the development and execution of major research projects and guides the work of the technical laboratory staff. The Staff Scientist performs state-of-the-art research projects in collaboration with the other researchers, making significant, original contributions to research methods. The Staff Scientist consults with the PIs and other professional researchers on the scope, design and objectives of the projects.

This is a fast-paced group, which work includes translational research to validate new strategies, the development of new processes and the manufacturing of CAR T-cell products for clinical trials, as well as Quality Control and correlative studies associated with these trials.

The selected candidate is expected to grow into a manager of the team developing and qualifying processes for the manufacturing of defined CAR T-cell products, including the planning, preparation and implementation of the manufacturing campaigns. The selected candidate will be assisted by an experienced team in the techniques, processes and regulatory procedures required for these studies.

The candidate will follow established City of Hope and department policies, procedures, objectives, performance improvement, attendance, safety, environmental, and infection control guidelines, including adherence to the workplace Code of Conduct and Compliance Plan. The candidate is expected to practice a high level of integrity and honesty in maintaining confidentiality. This position requires rigorous adherence to approved SOPs and worksheets, and accurate documentation of work performed and data. Work hours may vary, depending on the schedule of the clinical studies.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Responsible for the development and execution of major process development work, qualification of manufacturing workflows and campaigns for manufacturing of GMP cell products for clinical trials.
• Plans and directs the work of research associates, lab assistants, technicians and aides.
• Trains laboratory staff in specialized procedures, methodologies and equipment use and maintenance. Keeps abreast of new and improved methodologies and technologies.
• Contribute original ideas of methodological significance to the laboratory, standardize new techniques and trains laboratory staff in their use. Perform specialized procedures and prepare written reports of laboratory methods, and associated SOPs.
• Independently evaluates research data and initiates alternative approaches to improve the quality of results by providing input to overall research design that maximizes samples or refines the use of specialized techniques. Troubleshoots procedures if experiment results are unexpected or unsatisfactory.
• Participate in the preparation of manuscripts on specialized techniques and results of procedures.
• Ensures that all laboratory activities are carried out in compliance with each procedure(s) by utilizing safety procedures and guidelines in handling, storage and disposal of bio-hazardous, infectious and toxic material.
• The candidate must follow established City of Hope and department policies, procedures, objectives, performance improvement, attendance, safety, environmental, and infection control guidelines, including adherence to the workplace Code of Conduct and Compliance Plan. Practices a high level of integrity and honesty in maintaining confidentiality.
• Performs other related duties as assigned or requested.

Basic education, experience and skills required for consideration:

• PhD degree in immunology, biology, biomedical sciences, or a related field.
• At least four years of related research/laboratory experience.
• Experience in research on T cells, immunotherapy, gene therapy or in cGMP manufacturing of cell products, is required.

Preferred education experience and skills:

• Professional experience in research involving Cell Biology, Molecular Biology.
• Preference will be given to candidates with experience on: tissue culture techniques; processing of human cells at large scale; processing and analyses of human specimens; cell staining and flow cytometry.

City of Hope is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability.