Research Associate - Immuno-oncology and Antibody Discovery

Research Associate - Immuno-oncology and Antibody Discovery

South San Francisco, California

Apeximmune is a pre-clinical stage biotechnology start-up where we believe in harnessing the power of the immune system to treat and cure cancer. Based in South San Francisco, Apeximmune discovers and pioneers novel therapeutic antibodies that modulate immune cell activity to elicit durable, lasting efficacy in cancer and autoimmune disease. Our team integrates expertise in immunology, tumor cell biology, and protein biochemistry and engineering to provide therapies that can transform patients’ lives.

Apeximmune is seeking an experienced and talented Research Associate with a strong background in cellular and molecular immunology and cancer biology to join our therapeutic antibody discovery team. This position will play an integral role in several immuno-oncology target discovery projects towards clinical candidate nomination. Working under the guidance of a lead scientist, you will be responsible for multiple aspects of each project including immune cell functional assay development and optimization, hybridoma screening and characterization, lead candidate identification, and antibody purification. In addition, you will utilize your talents and experience to make contributions to other aspects of the projects including mechanism of action. Your work will be a critical component to the completion and success of Apeximmune’s strategic goals.

Key responsibilities include:

• The primary hands-on role of an antibody discovery project where you will help develop multiple binding and cell-based immune functional assays for hybridoma screening, run screening experiments and analyze results, identify antibody lead candidates, and ultimately define the path towards a go/no-go decision
• Generation of cell and protein reagents for novel assays through molecular cloning and small scale antibody and protein purification
• Assist in hybridoma maintenance, antibody affinity and PK/PD studies, and the implementation and characterization of mouse tumor models as needed
• Actively collaborating within our team, including contributions to other projects, participation and presenting in internal meetings, and sharing your areas of expertise so that others can learn from your knowledge and experience

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Immunology, Cell biology, Molecular Biology, or a related scientific field with at least 2+ years of industry experience
• Extensive experience with basic tissue culture and transfection/transduction of mammalian cell lines and primary cells
• Experience in performing cell-based functional in vitro immunoassays
• Proficiency in the isolation and characterization of human and mouse primary immune cells
• Experience in multi-color flow cytometry is a must, alongside basic knowledge of FACS-based phenotypic and functional characterization of immune cell populations