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Expert Scientist/RNA & Vector biology

Employer
GSK
Location
Rockville, MD
Salary
Competitive
Closing date
Dec 10, 2020

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The Vector Biology group at the US Research and Development Center, GSK Vaccines, is responsible for designing, characterizing and optimizing viral vector platforms for vaccine delivery, with a focus on RNA vaccines.

The goal of this Expert Scientist position will be focused on devising and executing experiments in the areas of RNA vaccine discovery and research with a focus on developing and understanding GSK's mRNA vaccine platform. The successful candidate should have the demonstrated expertise in molecular biology, vector biology and RNA virology. She/he will be a key member of the diverse team of vaccine scientists, to design, characterize, and select RNA vaccine candidates, dissect their mechanism of action, and support platform technology development

These responsibilities include some of the following:
  • Provide expertise in the areas of RNA based vaccines design and development
  • Utilize RNA biology and virology expertise and new cutting-edge technologies to design best-in-class RNA vector based vaccines
  • Develop and apply novel processes for mRNA synthesis
  • Guide selection of new vaccine platforms design
  • Determine mechanism of mRNA-based antigen expression, innate immune activation and presentation to the adaptive immune system
  • Provide effective and inspiring leadership with an enterprise mindset, ensuring support to professional development and qualification of staff
  • Possesses strong scientific leadership to enable collaboration with key scientific internal and external stakeholders.
  • Publish in peer reviewed journals
  • Supervise students and junior lab personnel as needed


Why you?

Basic Qualifications:

  • Ph.D. degree plus at least 2 years of experience or Masters with at least 5 years of experience in RNA virology, vector biology, nucleic acid vaccinology or related scientific discipline
  • Highly skilled in molecular and cellular biology, including molecular cloning, RNA design, generation and characterization
  • Prior experience in virology and viral engineering for viral-vector based vaccine design and/or mRNA based vaccines or therapeutics
  • Knowledge in the most current bioinformatics tools to design new RNA vaccine candidates
  • Strong track-record of scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals, with at least 3 first author research manuscripts
  • Hands-on experience in current technologies supporting the interrogation of nucleic acid research
  • Basic skills in statistical analysis
  • Fluency in English, spoken and written


Preferred Qualifications:
  • Prior experience with RNA based vaccines or therapeutics
  • Prior experience with alphavirus and/or alphavirus as vectors highly desirable
  • Knowledge of immunology and host-pathogen interactions is a plus
  • Experience in collecting, combining, and analyzing complex (high-throughput) biological data
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills
  • Record demonstrating the ability of driving independently innovative scientific projects and collaborate in multiple project workstreams


If you have the following characteristics, it would be a plus:

  • Demonstrate a detailed fundamental knowledge in molecular biology and molecular virology, particularly RNA virology, as they apply to vaccine discovery and development.
  • Have practical knowledge in molecular cloning, molecular and biological characterization, virus-host interactions, or viral pathogenesis.
  • Demonstrate willingness to spend ~70% of one's time in the research laboratory
  • Have the ability to understand, interpret, and communicate complex scientific data to determine next steps
  • Be comfortable conversing with opinion leaders regarding highly technical information
  • Be a self-starter able to handle multiple projects concurrently
  • Possess a good balance of creativity and analytical thinking faculties
  • Display an ability to be productive and successful in an intense work environment as a Team Player.


Why GSK?

Our values and expectationsare at the heart of everything we do and form an important part of our culture.

These include Patient focus, Transparency, Respect, Integrity along with Courage, Accountability, Development, and Teamwork. As GSK focuses on our values and expectations and a culture of innovation, performance, and trust, the successful candidate will demonstrate the following capabilities:
  • Agile and distributed decision-making - using evidence and applying judgement to balance pace, rigour and risk, governance and control, managing ambiguity and paradox.
  • Managing individual performance.
  • Creating a performance culture and driving results, prioritization, execution, delivering performance.
  • Setting strategic direction and leading on-going organizational transformation.
  • Building a resilient organization.
  • Building strong relationships and collaboration in service of common goals, engaging the organization and building trusted external networks for mutual benefit.
  • Managing P&L and capital allocation.


#LI-GSK

If you require an accommodation or other assistance to apply for a job at GSK, please contact the GSK Service Centre at 1-877-694-7547 (US Toll Free) or +1 801 567 5155 (outside US).

GSK is an Equal Opportunity Employer and, in the US, we adhere to Affirmative Action principles. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, disability, genetic information, military service, covered/protected veteran status or any other federal, state or local protected class.

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