Postdoctoral Fellow In Vivo Pharmacology & Immuno-Oncology Biomarkers

WHY PATIENTS NEED YOU

Pfizer's purpose is to deliver breakthroughs that change patients' lives. Research and Development is at the heart of fulfilling Pfizer's purpose as we work to translate advanced science and technologies into the therapies and vaccines that matter most. Whether you are in the discovery sciences, ensuring drug safety and efficacy or supporting clinical trials, you will apply cutting edge design and process development capabilities to accelerate and bring the best in class medicines to patients around the world.

WHAT YOU WILL ACHIEVE

We are seeking a highly motivated and a talented postdoctoral fellow to join the Comparative Medicine - Global Science and Technology group at Pfizer in La Jolla, California. The successful candidate will lead an independent research project to identify, develop, and characterize Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging biomarkers to understand tumor immune microenvironment in pre-clinical models. Validated biomarkers will help accelerate and enhance Pfizer's immuno-oncology (IO) drug discovery and clinical translation.

This postdoctoral position is aimed at using cutting edge technologies and imaging modalities to develop novel immune tracers. The postdoc will have opportunities to interact extensively with scientists and the Scientific Advisory Board across drug discovery functions (e.g., Comparative Medicine, Oncology-Translational Sciences/pharmacology, Biomedicine Design, and Early Clinical Development-Digital Science and Translational Medicine colleagues) and receive strong mentorship.

The candidate will participate and present the research work at internal and external meetings and aims to publish in high-impact journals. The position will be initially for a period of two years with the option for additional extension based on research need and progress.

HOW YOU WILL ACHIEVE IT

This postdoctoral fellow will be responsible to build a detailed postdoctoral proposal to develop novel PET biomarkers for IO. The position requires innovative, independent thinking, problem solving, and meticulous design and execution of experiments under minimal supervision.

• Conduct rigorous research to identify/create, optimize, and validate IO tumor models with a differential immune phenotype.
• Independently and/or collaboratively design and execute in vitro assays to evaluate the pharmacodynamic response of various IO therapeutics.
• Apply basic knowledge in protein engineering and modification to help design and optimize antibody-based imaging tracers with desirable in vivo pharmacological characteristics.
• Design and conduct in vivo studies to evaluate the imaging capability of the PET-IO biomarkers. Render go/no-go decisions; identify the best clones to move forward in development.
• Collaborate with data analysts and apply automated and artificial intelligence-derived tools in the processing and analysis of in vivo and imaging data.
• Participate in the translational and clinical development and evaluation of the PET imaging biomarkers.
• Collaborate across functional teams to effectively leverage the resources at Pfizer.
• Independently interpret and analyze data and communicate findings to mentor.
• Ensure all tasks and responsibilities are carried out according to scientific and ethical standards.

QUALIFICATIONS

Must-Have

• PhD in life sciences, immunology, molecular biology, pharmacology, oncology or related fields
• 0-3 years of postdoctoral training in academia.
• 1-2 first-author publications (published or manuscripts submitted for publication) in high-quality specialty or general readership journals .
• Experience with mouse models of cancer and immuno-oncology and their development plus characterization.
• Experience in tissue culture and diverse in vivo skills including dosing and sample collection.
• Strong collaborative spirit and communication, writing skills. Outstanding scientific contribution as evidenced by lead author publications (or manuscript in preparation) in high impact journals.

Nice-to-Have

• Experience with in vivo imaging modalities such as optical imaging, computed tomography (CT), and/or positron emission tomography (PET)
• Knowledge of and/or experience with protein engineering, conjugation, and molecular assessment.

PHYSICAL/MENTAL REQUIREMENTS

• The position will involve occasional lifting (up to 50 lbs.) and work which involve repeated motions.
• The position will also involve complex data or image analysis using advanced software and tools.

NON-STANDARD WORK SCHEDULE, TRAVEL OR ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS

The position will involve occasional weekend experiments.

OTHER JOB DETAILS

• Must Have Work Authorization in US
• Eligible for Relocation Assistance
• Work Location Assignment:On Premise

The annual base salary for this position ranges from $59,200.00 to $98,600.00. In addition, this position offers an annual bonus with a target of 7.5% of the base salary. Benefits offered include a retirement savings plan, paid vacation, holiday and personal days, paid caregiver/parental and medical leave, and health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans. Salary range does not apply to the Tampa, FL location.

Relocation assistance may be available based on business needs and/or eligibility.

Sunshine Act

Pfizer reports payments and other transfers of value to health care providers as required by federal and state transparency laws and implementing regulations. These laws and regulations require Pfizer to provide government agencies with information such as a health care provider's name, address and the type of payments or other value received, generally for public disclosure. Subject to further legal review and statutory or regulatory clarification, which Pfizer intends to pursue, reimbursement of recruiting expenses for licensed physicians may constitute a reportable transfer of value under the federal transparency law commonly known as the Sunshine Act. Therefore, if you are a licensed physician who incurs recruiting expenses as a result of interviewing with Pfizer that we pay or reimburse, your name, address and the amount of payments made currently will be reported to the government. If you have questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact your Talent Acquisition representative.

EEO & Employment Eligibility

Pfizer is committed to equal opportunity in the terms and conditions of employment for all employees and job applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, gender identity or gender expression, national origin, disability or veteran status. Pfizer also complies with all applicable national, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act and IRCA. Pfizer is an E-Verify employer.

Research and Development