Senior Research Associate

LOCATION: BERKELEY, CA – USA REPORTS TO:  ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, PERSONALIZED MEDICINE   SUMMARY & SCOPE:

Aduro is an immunotherapy company with multiple therapeutic approaches in clinical development.  The Translational and Predictive Medicine department contributes to the development of investigational drugs by implementing strategies to bridge preclinical research with clinical development.  The Personalized Medicine team within the Translational & Predictive Medicine department partners with other functional groups within Clinical Development for clinical study design and supports clinical trials with pharmacodynamic assessments and the development of prognostic and predictive biomarkers for response and resistance to targeted therapies as well as companion diagnostics, if required

We are seeking a self-motivated, energetic, and detail-oriented Senior Research Associate to join a fast-paced team within a matrixed environment to support clinical development of small molecule and biologic drugs.  The duties of the job include experimental design and execution, analysis and interpretation of data, and presentation of findings to the Personalized Medicine team. This individual will develop and validate robust biomarker assays and perform translational research to characterize the tumor microenvironment and/or immune mechanisms in oncology and inflammatory disease indications. The candidate will contribute to key studies which will have a direct impact on the success of our therapeutic programs.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Receive, procure and process clinical samples including isolation of primary human immune cells (T cells, B cells, Dendritic cells and other) from human blood and tumor material
• Perform immune assays using human biological samples (serum, tissue, PBMC, urine) and support data analysis for immune monitoring of patients enrolled in immunotherapy clinical trials
• Develop and validate new technologies and establish assays for mechanistic studies, including biomarker discovery
• Independently troubleshoot, redesign, and optimize assays as needed
• Generate SOPs, validation plans and reports, and other related documents for review by senior staff while maintaining excellent lab notebook documentation practices
• Maintain and update biorepository databases
• Manage routine lab maintenance and operations including oversight of laboratory equipment certifications and service, establish quality standards, and ensure staff compliance
• Work cross-functionally with other research teams and departments within the company to support product characterization at different stages of development
• Keep up with latest technological and scientific approaches to immunotherapy research using literature and other sources
• May supervise other research associates as needed 

REQUIREMENTS:

• B.S or M.S. in Biology, Immunology, or a related field (preferred tumor biology, inflammatory disease)
• 8+ years of experience in a biotech environment is required, additional experience in a global pharma company is beneficial
• Required proficiency in immune cell isolation, multi-parameter flow cytometry, ELISA/ELISPot/ELLA, Luminex, immune cell-based functional assays
• Desired technical skills include Western Blotting, PCR/qPCR and cell line-based assays
• Experience working under SOPs and in GxP compliance
• Strong record of demonstrating analytical reasoning, creative problem-solving skills
• Ability to design experiments to address a scientific question and to critically analyze and interpret data
• Experience with drafting summary reports and protocols
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, GraphPad Prism required; working knowledge of FlowJo/FCS Express preferred 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Be an effective team player and strong individual contributor, flexible, and able to handle multiple tasks and deliver high quality results under tight timelines