Senior Research Associate Synthetic TCR Libraries

Neogene Therapeutics is a pre-clinical stage biotechnology company aiming to change the paradigm of treatment for solid cancers. Our mission is to provide cancer patients with T cell therapies targeting mutated proteins called neo-antigens, which are present on cancer cells as a consequence of DNA mutations. Neogene is developing novel technologies to enable the engineering of ‘designer T cells’ with neo-antigen specificities that display an optimized ability to seek and destroy cancer cells.

For our R&D department in Amsterdam, we are seeking a highly motivated individual to join our T cell engineering research team as a Senior Research Associate. The individual will design synthetic TCR libraries to discover novel TCR candidates against recurrent viral and neo-antigens in the field of oncology and use these TCRs to develop personalized T cell therapies.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Performing experimental studies in the area of T cell Immunology under the supervision of senior research staff, with a strong focus on the identification of novel TCR genes to create personalized engineered T cell therapies for cancer.
• Collaborating with the broader R&D team including scientists, research associates and internship students.
• Presenting obtained results in internal work discussions.
• Documenting experimental results in electronic laboratory journal and data reports.
• Completion of general tasks relating to laboratory operations, such as storage of incoming shipments, aliquoting of reagents and database maintenance for cryogenic storage.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements:

• Bachelor or Master’s in Biomedical Sciences or a related field. Candidates with relevant work experience may be eligible for a position as a Principal Research Associate (at the company’s discretion).
• First-hand experience with primary T cell culture, phenotypic and functional evaluation of T cells by flow cytometry (surface and intracellular staining, proliferation tracking, cytotoxicity assays), and genetic modification of primary T cells and cell lines using viral and non-viral tools (e.g. CRISPR) is strongly preferred.
• Additional training in the area of TCR characterization, TCR or antibody phage display, or genetic screening (vector design/construction and next-generation sequencing) is a plus.
• Excellent organizational skills, a strong sense of urgency with regards to work duties and the ability to deliver results based on challenging timelines.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Comfortable in a fast-paced growing company environment and able to adjust workload based upon changing priorities.
• We are seeking a person who will lead by example and is a self-motivated team player with strong interpersonal skills.

We offer the opportunity to join a highly dynamic growth-stage biotech company. You can expect a collaborative environment created by a team with deep scientific expertise and an industrial track-record in T cell therapies. We value pro-active team-players who pursue their goals with dedication, endurance and a daring mindset. If you share our commitment to make a difference to patients in need, we can provide a unique opportunity to be a major contributor to the success of a well-positioned, well-financed growth-stage biotechnology company.