Postdoc- Postdoctoral Fellow – Analytical Development

Postdoc- Postdoctoral Fellow – Analytical Development – CHO Cell Culture Metabolomics

The Postdoctoral Program is designed for true investigational and experimental research. Participants will be mentored by renowned industry scientists and collaborators at AbbVie and focused on delivering cutting-edge advancements in Discovery, Development Sciences and BioPharma. The enriching training program offers a balance of structured learning and work experience which fosters a learning environment to advance individual development with accessibility to high-level knowledge building across the drug development continuum. Technical expert that will investigate, identify, develop, and optimize new methods/ techniques to address critical project needs. Continuously seek to improve existing laboratory methods and processes. Read and adapt literature to accomplish assignments. Demonstrate mastery of broad range of experimental techniques and methods of data analysis.

To be successful, we need outstanding individuals willing to challenge themselves to find the best solutions for our patients. The AbbVie Postdoc program is one way we are doing just that.

Through our Postdoc program, we are hiring postdocs from key academic institutions for preferred areas of science in the U.S., while providing a unique opportunity for participants to build a solid career foundation in the pharmaceutical industry while building the AbbVie brand as an employer of choice for scientific talent. The program offers a balance of structured learning and work experience, with accessibility to high-level knowledge building across the drug development continuum. This assignment is expected to be one year long and no more than two years.

Background:

This project is aimed to develop analytical capability to support raw material, cell culture media and supernatant analyses with the goal of enhancing our bioprocess understanding. Liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is a powerful technique that can enable targeted and untargeted analyses of metabolites and important raw material components. Targeted LC-MS methods can provide the ability to monitor a list of metabolites in cell culture supernatant samples during cultivation to assess changes during bioprocessing or raw material component changed between different vendor lots. On the other hand, recent advancements in untargeted LC-MS and bioinformatics techniques have led to more comprehensive profiling of metabolites and lipids using ion mobility mass spectrometry.

The primary goal of the project is to develop analytical methods to support the enhanced understanding of bioprocessing and raw material variability by leveraging state-of-the-art instruments currently available in analytical development. The project will begin by developing targeted LC-MS methods to identify and quantify (relative) components present in raw materials as well as cell culture media and supernatant. The post-doc will begin by developing a sample preparation procedure as well as LC-MS methods that take advantage of positive and negative mode electrospray ionization (ESI) on a Triple Quadrupole (QQQ) mass spectrometer. In parallel, the post-doc will also investigate untargeted metabolomics and lipidomics LC-MS methods on a Bruker TIMS-TOF mass spectrometer taking advantage of the speed, sensitivity, and ion mobility separation of that spectrometer. If time permits, the post-doc will explore sample preparation procedures for intracellular analysis as this will enhance our understanding of the cell metabolism.

This project will also focus on exploring various data processing methodologies to simplify the complex results of the targeted LC-MS analysis into a manageable dataset. In parallel, the post-doc will investigate data processing options for the untargeted LC-MS results to identify metabolites in cell culture media and supernatant by matching tandem mass spectrometry results with publicly available databases, with the aim of identifying the optimum workflow for untargeted LC-MS analysis. The post-doc will then work together with cell culture scientists to interpret the results and map out metabolic pathways to determine cell culture process drivers.

Key Responsibilities:

• Establish, perform and optimize targeted and untargeted metabolomics analyses using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS)
• Design and execute experiments for LC-MS method development. 
• Explore bioinformatics analysis and pathway analysis to enhance bioprocess understanding
• Explore vibrational spectroscopy methods for analysis of raw materials and connect findings with cell culture performance
• Effective writer and communicator of research materials
• Demonstrate the ability to resolve any key issues by effectively utilizing available information and technical expertise
• Proactively seek out new information in the literature and incorporate this into individual project(s) as well as the overall program
• Publish research in peer-reviewed journals and present work at scientific conferences aligned with business objectives
• Demonstrate a high degree of responsibility in maintaining scientific standards, and safe laboratory practices for self and reporting staff, if any
• Generate new research strategies to effectively address the Postdoc project needs
• Collaborate with cross functional and technical experts to facilitate scientific achievement