Director, Pathology

The Role:

Moderna is seeking a Director of Pathology to support the characterization and understanding of potential adverse effects of modified mRNA’s and delivery systems in preclinical species. Reporting to the Sr. Director of Pathology, this scientific leader helps uncover the molecular pathogenesis behind these changes to understand if these effects translate to the clinical situation. 

The Director will lead, build, and develop our exceptional team of scientists and research associates. We will invest in your leadership development by either helping you develop your skills if you do not have direct people management experience and/or strengthen and broaden your existing skills if you have previous experience in management.

The Pathologist, also supports the effort for developing a better, safer and more efficient delivery and expression system.  He/she/they also provides support to establish the regulatory position which enables clinical trials with these agents.

Here’s What You Will Do:

• Develop and execute pathology sciences laboratory practices to support the platform and cross-functional needs (molecular pathology, histology, investigative pathology/toxicology)

• Lead and contribute effectively to development and/or discovery projects

• Support the effort to establish state of the art processes for evaluating and characterizing the effects of modified mRNA’s in preclinical species including the pathology sciences necessary for this characterization.

• Interface with the drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic experts to characterize the full pharmaco- and toxicodynamic properties of this novel class of agents.

• Participate in developing Moderna’s pathology assessment scheme for potential clinical candidates, up to and including peer-review of GLP and regulatory enabling studies

• Prepare appropriate sections of regulatory documents to support the filing of applications for human dosing including IND’s, CTA’s, etc. 

• Communicate pathology strategy, findings and reports efficiently with peers and upper management

Here’s What You’ll Bring to the Table

• DVM with or without Ph.D. in comparative pathology (ACVP board certification preferred), pharmacology and/or toxicology with 7 or more years spent overseeing all aspects of the Safety Assessment activities in pharmaceutical development.  Strong consideration will be given to those with experience in the evaluation of nucleic acid-based and nanoparticle tox/path.

• Significant contributions to the success of novel pharmaceutical agents with direct experience authoring study reports and appropriate sections of regulatory documents supporting applications for human dosing.

• Strong investigative toxicologic/pathology skills to interpret chemical based toxicity and morphological/clinical pathology changes related to chemical exposures. 

• Strong level of understanding and expertise in either one or more of the following:  immunology, nanoparticle biology and pathology, the complement system

• Experience conducting outsourced GLP toxicology studies and interfacing with the scientific tox/path staffs at leading CRO’s.

• Significant experience interpreting clinical pathology data from preclinical studies

• Skills in teamwork, communication, detail orientation, independence, results orientation, multi-tasking and sense of urgency

• Desire to lead and build a team

Moderna is pleased to provide you and your family with a comprehensive and innovative suite of benefits, including:

• Highly competitive and inclusive medical, dental and vision coverage options
• Flexible Spending Accounts for medical expenses and dependent care expenses
• Lifestyle Spending Account funds to help you engage in personal enrichment and self-care activities
• Family care benefits, including subsidized back-up care options and on-demand tutoring
• Free premium access to fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness classes 
• Exclusive preferred pricing on Peloton fitness equipment
• Adoption and family-planning benefits
• Dedicated care coordination support for our LGBTQ+ community
• Generous paid time off, including:
  •    Vacation, sick time and holidays
  •    Volunteer time to participate within your community
  •    Discretionary winter shut down 
  •    Paid sabbatical after 5 years; every 3 years thereafter
• Generous Paid Leave offerings, including 18 weeks of 100% paid parental leave for all new parents
• 401k match and Financial Planning tools
• Moderna-paid Life, LTD and STD insurance coverages, as well as voluntary benefit options
• Complimentary concierge service including home services research, travel booking, and entertainment requests
• Free parking or subsidized commuter passes
• Location-specific perks and extras!

Candidates should be aware that Moderna currently maintains a policy requiring all US-based employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and receive a booster shot once eligible. Newly hired employees must be vaccinated and boosted prior to their employment start date. Moderna is an equal opportunity employer and will provide a reasonable accommodation to those unable to be vaccinated or receive a booster where it is not an undue hardship to the company to do so as provided under federal, state, and local law.

About Moderna

In over 10 years since its inception, Moderna has transformed from a research-stage company advancing programs in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA), to an enterprise with a diverse clinical portfolio of vaccines and therapeutics across seven modalities, a broad intellectual property portfolio in areas including mRNA and lipid nanoparticle formulation, and an integrated manufacturing plant that allows for rapid clinical and commercial production at scale. Moderna maintains alliances with a broad range of domestic and overseas government and commercial collaborators, which has allowed for the pursuit of both groundbreaking science and rapid scaling of manufacturing. Most recently, Moderna's capabilities have come together to allow the authorized use and approval of one of the earliest and most effective vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moderna's mRNA platform builds on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery technology and manufacturing, and has allowed the development of therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases and autoimmune diseases. Moderna has been named a top biopharmaceutical employer by Science for the past seven years. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com.

Moderna is a smoke-free, alcohol-free and drug-free work environment.

Moderna is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person’s race, color, gender, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation or any characteristic protected under applicable law. Moderna will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.

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