Senior Scientist, Oncology Translational Research

The Role:

The Senior Scientist role in Modernas Oncology Research department is an opportunity to shape how translational science is done at Moderna as well as to help lead translational research efforts for our current and future cancer vaccine programs. The Oncology Translational Research team is focused on bridging discovery/pre-clinical programs to clinical development and utilizing clinical and real-world data to develop next generation mRNA medicines. We are looking for an outstanding scientist with experience in forward and reverse translational approaches to advance and expand our portfolio. She/he/they will primarily be responsible for our cancer vaccine Translational Research and will work closely with others within Oncology Research as well as with our Translational Medicine and Biomarker teams. Applicants ideally will have experience in both supporting current clinical assets as well as driving efforts for new patient and target identification. The successful candidate is both an outstanding scientist and effective collaborator, and thrives in a fast-paced, results-oriented environment managing several projects in parallel.

Heres What Youll Do:

• Develop deeper understanding of Mechanisms of Action (MOA) for current clinical stage cancer vaccine programs and for emerging programs in collaboration with the discovery/pre-clinical program teams.

• Identify Mechanisms of Resistance (MOR) to current clinical cancer vaccine approaches and emerging programs through interrogation of non-human and human samples/data sets.

• Define and provide justification for rational combinations to our mRNA vaccines with other mRNA-based approaches as well as with standards of care and other emerging therapies, including generating appropriate pre-clinical data in relevant models of cancer.

• Provide rationale for targeting specific patient populations (cancer types and distinct patient subsets within indications of interest) for our current and emerging cancer vaccine pipeline.

• Refine dose, schedule and sequencing for vaccine combinations in clinic through pre-clinical studies and collaborations.

• Support the development of clinical biomarker strategies with Translational Medicine and Biomarker leads.

• Support gaining access to and analyses of patient samples and datasets beyond those generated from our clinical trials through collaborations and commercial means.

• Design and drive studies to support predictive biomarker identification and validation.

• Support development and optimization of cell-based assays and protocols that can be transferred to appropriate internal and/or third-party labs for clinical sample analyses.

• Present internally and externally to various audiences.

• Maintain deep understanding of the field of immuno-oncology, particularly as it pertains to biomarker discovery and patient outcomes

Heres What Youll Bring to the Table:

• Ph.D. in Cancer Biology, Immunology, Immuno-oncology (IO) or related field relevant to the role with extensive experience in research and preferred experience in industry. Open to flexibility on leveling depending on candidates experience.

• Minimum 2 years experience

• Experience with deep analyses of pre-clinical and clinical samples, such as with genomic profiling, bulk and single cell RNA sequencing, multi-parameter flow/CyTOF panels.

• Bioinformatics familiarity to access, understand and analyze large patient derived datasets with support from our bioinformaticians, and ability to analyze -omics data and/or perform bespoke analysesis a differentiator

• Proven record in evaluating Mechanisms of Action and Resistance tied to impactful outcomes.

• Immuno-Oncology experience to fuel MOA/MOR evaluations as well as knowledge of emergent and current standards of care to define rational combinations, including cancer vaccines.

• Ability to effectively collaborate in a dynamic, cross-functional matrixed environment.

• Outstanding communication skills (verbal and written).

• Ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment with aggressive timelines.

• Respectful and inclusive attitude for your colleagues/team members, in addition to your exemplary collaborative nature, boldness, creativity, curiosity and relentlessness.

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 year-end shutdown
  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 persons 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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