Associate Scientist - Immunology

Neurocrine Biosciences • San Diego, CA

1d • $35 - $47

About The Position

At Neurocrine Biosciences, we pride ourselves on having a strong, inclusive, and positive culture based on our shared purpose and values. We know what it takes to be great, and we are as passionate about our people as we are about our purpose - to relieve suffering for people with great needs. Neurocrine Biosciences is a leading neuroscience-focused, biopharmaceutical company with a simple purpose: to relieve suffering for people with great needs. We are dedicated to discovering and developing life-changing treatments for patients with under-addressed neurological, neuroendocrine and neuropsychiatric disorders. The company's diverse portfolio includes FDA-approved treatments for tardive dyskinesia, chorea associated with Huntington's disease, classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia, endometriosis and uterine fibroids, as well as a robust pipeline including multiple compounds in mid- to late-phase clinical development across our core therapeutic areas. For three decades, we have applied our unique insight into neuroscience and the interconnections between brain and body systems to treat complex conditions. We relentlessly pursue medicines to ease the burden of debilitating diseases and disorders because you deserve brave science. For more information, visit neurocrine.com, and follow the company on LinkedIn, X and Facebook. (in collaboration with AbbVie) About the Role: Assess drug effects in the development of therapeutic approaches to target immunity and inflammation in disease progression in immunology diseases, neurodegenerative and movement disorders. Assists in the design, development, and validation of the cell-based functional assays and rodent disease model development to test and analyze molecule activities, investigate the mechanism of action of drug candidates, and ultimately deliver preclinical evidence for future clinical testing.

Requirements

• BS/BA degree in biological sciences preferably related to neuroscience, immunology or pharmacology and experience with cell culture and handling, in-vitro assay design and some experience with handling/processing of ex-vivo rodent tissue samples.
• MS/MA degree in biological sciences preferably related to neuroscience, immunology or pharmacology and some experience noted above
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint), as well as some basic graphical and/or statistical software
• Developing communications, problem-solving, analytical thinking, planning and organization skills
• Understands importance of meeting deadlines
• High level of organization and attention to detail
• Willingness and ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Experience in aseptic handling of cell lines and human primary cells
• Experience in biochemistry assays and strong knowledge of immunohistology techniques
• Experience in laboratory techniques like MesoScale Discovary (MSD), ELISA, Immunohistochemisty (IHC) and Immunocytochemisty (ICC) is a must
• Attention to detail, punctual, flexible, and an outstanding team-player who is comfortable working on and prioritizing multiple projects
• Able to execute experiments efficiently and suggest small process improvements
• Able to recognize patterns or inconsistencies in data results
• Developing knowledge of scientific principles, methods and techniques
• Good knowledge and some experience working with discipline specific laboratory equipment/tools
• Some experience in human PBMC isolation, lymphocyte proliferation, activation, cytokine secretion and differentiation assays
• Basic molecular biology skills including mRNA and protein isolation, TagMan, NanoString and scRNAseq experience is highly desirable

Nice To Haves

• Experience with in vivo pharmacology and efficacy studies including multiple dosing routes of administration and necropsy procedures is a plus
• Some experience with animal handling, multiple dosing routes and tissue collection is a plus but not required.

Responsibilities

• Assists in experiments to support scientific activities and project goals involving cells including primary human leukocytes, human primary cells and cell lines, mouse splenocytes, iPCS derived microglia cells and biochemical assays
• Under supervision, generates data and works with complex assay system, with a strong understanding of advanced data analysis and statistical tests
• Responsible for advanced cell-based assay development, including human whole blood, human and rodent primary cells, coculture and ex vivo tissues
• Set up vitro assays to understand the cellular functions of innate and adaptive immune cells as well as the cell-cell interaction
• Performs color flow cytometry assay including intracellular staining and prepare for cell sorting as well as flowcytometry data analysis
• Follows SOP’s and writes data summaries for experiments conducted and presents the data with clear communication
• Analyze the data and present and communicate with teams
• Other duties as assigned

Benefits

• retirement savings plan (with company match)
• paid vacation, holiday and personal days
• paid caregiver/parental and medical leave
• health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees