(Senior) Research Associate - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

About the Role

As a (Senior) Research Associate - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, you will participate in the development of an analytical framework to evaluate, characterize, and prototype blood stabilization technologies and contribute to our mission of early detection and intervention in human disease. In this role, you will contribute to the design and execution of experiments aimed at analyzing analyte stability in a variety of blood fractions to facilitate cancer biomarker discovery and development. You will work closely with other internal R&D groups to establish appropriate analytical methods and deliver high-quality data and analyses toward the optimization of sample stabilization and the improvement of the preanalytical process.

Responsibilities:

• Develop in-house methods and/or optimize kit-based assays for assessing the analytical performance of blood collection devices and preservatives
• Assist with the isolation and characterization of blood components, including plasma, PBMCs, neutrophils, platelets, and extracellular vesicles 
• Collaborate with the genomics and proteomics teams to run analytical assays for measuring protein, DNA, and RNA content of plasma and its fractions
• Assist with development and maintenance of cell culture systems to generate research-grade reference materials and establish quality control metrics
• Participate in experimental design and troubleshooting efforts, helping develop efficient experimental plans.
• Take detailed notes, gather high-quality data, and openly communicate on lessons learned while performing experiments.

What We're Looking For:

• Bachelor’s degree with 2+ years of experience in biochemistry, molecular biology, analytical chemistry, cell biology, or a related field
• Hands-on experience of protein or nucleic acid characterization assays, including but not limited to
  • BCA, immunoblotting, ELISA, flow cytometry, MSD, or Luminex
  • DNA/RNA extraction, qPCR, ddPCR, or next-generation sequencing
  • UV-Vis spectrophotometry, HPLC, or LC-MS
• Prior experience with mammalian cell culture
• Highly self-motivated, detail-oriented
• Proven ability to independently plan and execute, troubleshoot experiments, prepare data for review, as well as give effective scientific presentations in team meetings
• Ability to perform basic data analysis and be critical of results obtained during experimentation
• Excellent interpersonal and communications skills, and proven ability to work with team members in the same and adjacent disciplines
• Valuable supplementary experiences include:
  • Strong analytical chemistry background
  • Baseline knowledge of blood composition including both cellular (e.g., neutrophils, PBMCs) and cell-free fractions (e.g., extracellular vesicles, lipoproteins)
  • Baseline knowledge of common biospecimen preservatives
  • Familiarity with the stability profile of cells, DNA, RNA, proteins, and metabolites
  • Ability to perform basic data analysis in a scientific programming language (e.g., Python or R)
  • Previous industry/start-up experience in the life sciences

Freenome has adopted a COVID-19 vaccination policy to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees. As a condition of employment, our employees working on-site are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a reasonable accommodation is approved or as otherwise required by law.

About Freenome

Freenome is on a mission to empower everyone with the tools they need to detect, treat, and ultimately prevent cancer.

We have pioneered the most comprehensive multiomics platform for early cancer detection through a routine blood draw.  By combining deep expertise in molecular biology with advanced computational biology and machine learning techniques to recognize disease-associated patterns among billions of circulating, cell-free biomarkers, we are developing simple and accurate blood tests for early cancer detection and integrating the actionable insights into health systems to operationalize a machine learning feedback loop between care and science. 

Our recent $270 Million Series C brings our financing to over $500 million from investors, including;  Bain Capital, Perceptive Advisors, RA Capital, Polaris Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., GV (formerly Google Ventures), Roche Venture Fund, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, American Cancer Society’s BrightEdge Ventures, Data Collective Venture Capital, Novartis and Verily Life Sciences. 

Our Science

Freenome is building technology to advance the understanding of cancer through multiple analytes derived from blood. These signals include cell-free DNA, methylation of cell-free DNA, cell-free RNA, circulating proteins, and immune profiling derived from thousands of prospective samples. By developing novel statistical learning methods and applying them to integrate various -omics datasets, Freenome is a leader in modeling specific biological mechanisms to capture disease-dependent signatures, including gene expression, immune response, tumor burden, the tissue of origin, and 3D chromatin structure. 

By building comprehensive discovery datasets and modeling critical biological systems, Freenome is learning what biological changes are present within the blood between a variety of different disease states, including cancer, autoimmune disorders, infections, drug response, and aging. The synthesis of Freenome’s datasets, cross-functional technical expertise, and audacious mission to discover biological truth, we seek to improve the lives of millions through early detection and early treatment of disease.  

Our Culture

Freenomers are technical, creative, visionary, grounded, empathetic, and passionate. We build teams around divergent expertise, allowing us to solve problems and ascertain opportunities in unique ways. Freenomers are some of the most talented experts in their fields, joining together to advance healthcare, one breakthrough at a time. 

We value empathy, integrity, and trust in one another, and we respect the diverse perspectives of our colleagues and those we serve.  We assume positive intent and give each other the benefit of the doubt with the firm belief that we are a team working toward the same objectives.  We believe in empowering and supporting each other in a collaborative and dynamic environment. 

What does a successful person look like at Freenome?

Those who thrive at Freenome prioritize, manage, and execute their own goals with ownership and alignment with those of the company. They embrace our values of empathy, integrity, striving for greatness, servant leadership, trust, and holding themselves and their team accountable to these values. They crave collaboration with brilliant minds from disparate fields of study and believe that hiring and mentorship are fundamental to our success. Above all, they welcome and provide constructive feedback and criticism, trusting in others’ good intentions, and being secure in knowing that embracing mistakes is the best way to learn and grow. For those who pursue challenges, understudied problems, and want the opportunity to see their work impact the lives of millions of people affected by cancer every year, there’s no better place to be than Freenome.