Scientific Project Director - Stem Cell Transplantation Research

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston is one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. It was named the nation's No. 1 hospital for cancer care in U.S. News & World Report's 2019 rankings. It is one of the nation's original three comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute.

The primary purpose of the Scientific Project Director position is to plan, direct, and oversee various chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) to help engineer primary immune cells including NK Cells and cytotoxic T cells to target cancer cells with specificity.

KEY FUNCTIONS

Scientific Management/Collaboration

- Collaborates with the leadership to develop and maintain strategic business and scientific plans including schedules, project estimates, resource plans, status reports, and research protocols.
- Identifies key issues, approaches, performance metrics, gap analysis, and resource needs.
- Prepares quarterly progress reports, monitors, evaluates, and reports on timelines, accomplishments, planned work, budget, and provides updates as necessary.
- Contributes to and supports the overall scientific management of CAR NK project, including fostering collaborative relationships with industry and academic leaders across departments, divisions, and institutional boundaries, to assure advancement of industry and program goals.
- Works closely with leadership, research investigators, and research teams to identify and recommend opportunities leading to scientific discovery, develop improved techniques, and novel therapeutics.
- Provides scientific input, including assistance in the design of preclinical and translational research, interpretation of data and design of follow-up experiments, troubleshooting issues, and providing results and conclusions to program leadership, collaborators, and co-workers.
- Keeps abreast of scientific issues and methods through attendance at scientific conferences and training of research support personnel in implementing experiments and interpretation of data as needed.
- Exhibits understanding of basic and translational research processes.
- Attends and may lead meetings with research collaborators and partners, with the ability to give data presentations and facilitate discussions regarding the advancement of science and research.
- Complete laboratory work if necessary and integral to the completion of a scientific project.
- Ensures that the scientific objectives are being met.

Research Administration

- Supports leadership with identification, preparation, coordination, and submission/tracking of grants and manuscripts.
- Facilitate interactions with Principal Investigators, faculty, staff, and study sponsors across departments, divisions, and institutional boundaries related to CAR NK initiative.
- Assures that institutional policies and procedures are followed.

Grant Development, Scientific Writing, and Publications

- Authors, coordinates, and creates technical reports, abstracts, slide presentations, spreadsheets, posters, and manuscripts for submission to corporate and federal sponsors, conferences, and scientific journals.
- Supports production of medical illustrations, publication graphics, scientific posters, and slide presentations for national and international meetings.
- Regularly screens scientific journals and coordinates, participates, and presents in journal club meetings.
- Identifies federal and private foundation funding opportunities along with the preparation and submission of research grant applications and related progress reports.
- Performs and/or delegates the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and information as related to proposals, grants, abstracts, and manuscript submissions, including working with bioinformatics and biostatisticians to ensure proper study measurement and data analysis.
- Works with program leaders and research investigators to prepare scientific financial budgets as related to grant applications and preclinical proposals.
- Acts as a liaison with both OSP and the Development office to meet all requirements to secure external funding.
- Contacts funding agencies to discuss relevant funding opportunities.

Other duties assigned.

EDUCATION

Required: Master's degree.

Preferred: PhD degree.

EXPERIENCE
Required: Six years experience in a biotechnology/pharmaceutical/academic research or clinical research setting to include three years research program/project management experience. With preferred degree, four years of experience in a biotechnology/pharmaceutical/academic research or clinical research setting to include one year of research program/project management experience.

It is the policy of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to provide equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other basis protected by institutional policy or by federal, state or local laws unless such distinction is required by law. http://www.mdanderson.org/about-us/legal-and-policy/legal-statements/eeo-affirmative-action.html