Coop Regenerative Medicine Lab (Spring 27)

Unither Pharmaceuticals•RTP, NC, NC

5d•Onsite

About The Position

We are the first publicly-traded biotech or pharmaceutical company to take the form of a public benefit corporation. Our public benefit purpose is to provide a brighter future for patients through the development of novel pharmaceutical therapies; and technologies that expand the availability of transplantable organs. United Therapeutics (Nasdaq: UTHR) seeks to travel down the corridors of indifference to develop treatments for rare, deadly diseases. We were founded in 1996 by a family seeking a cure for their daughter’s pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Today, we have six FDA-approved therapies that treat PAH, pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD) and neuroblastoma, a rare pediatric cancer. Our near-term pipeline seeks to develop additional therapies for PAH and pulmonary fibrosis (PF). The cure for end-stage life-threatening diseases like PAH, PH-ILD, PF, and many others is an organ transplant, but only a small percentage of donated organs are available to address the vast need. For this reason, we are working to create manufactured organs to address the shortage of kidneys, hearts, lungs, and livers available for transplant. We believe an unlimited supply of tolerable, transplantable organs will eliminate the transplant waiting list and cure end-stage organ diseases for which transplant is not currently an option. The selected Co-op will need to be onsite at the RTP, North Carolina lab for the entire duration of this co-op role, from January 2027 through June of 2027. Some co-ops fetch coffee. This one explores the future of lung science. Join our team and spend your spring tackling meaningful research projects in regenerative medicine, working with advanced imaging, cell culture, data analysis, and tissue engineering technologies. You'll learn from experts, contribute to discoveries that matter, and gain the kind of hands-on experience that can shape an entire scientific career. This Spring 2027 Co-op will conduct and assist in research & development efforts to develop novel cell- and tissue-based products for treating pulmonary hypertension and other lung diseases. This role will complete a focused research project to address a question that is relevant to the development of a cell- or tissue-based product for the treatment of lung disease(s). Generate data that addresses an insightful question and produce summary conclusions and report(s) to document the outcomes of experimental testing. Present data to management, team leaders, and research staff during internal review meetings, and make a final presentation of project findings. The project will be chosen based upon the background of the applicant as well as the needs of the research & development team. Examples of R&D projects include: Use in vitro tools to investigate how primary lung cells isolated from different donors behave uniquely. Analyze transcriptomic data generated from lung cells and recellularized lung tissue. Perform advanced imaging studies to visualize the microvasculature of the lung.

Requirements

Actively enrolled in an educational program toward the completion of a master’s or PhD in biology, biomedical sciences, engineering or related field for the duration of the co-op position
Available to work 40 hours/week onsite in the RTP, NC facility
Relevant coursework and laboratory experience
2+ years’ experience in cell culture
Experience with standard office software

Nice To Haves

Experience with cell-based in vitro assays (e.g. tube formation, 3D hydrogels, microfluidics, application of shear stress, ALI)
Experience with cell analytical assays (e.g. flow cytometry, immunostaining, protein/mRNA characterization), such as 1-2 semesters of class/lab-work or academic/industry work experience
Experience with tissue handling and manipulation (ex vivo organ or tissue analysis techniques)
Experience with fluorescence microscopy; confocal microscopy, micro-CT or other 3D imaging experience strongly preferred
Large data analysis (e.g. RNA-seq, proteomics) and/or programming experience
Knowledge of lung biology or physiology, such as 1-2 semesters of class/lab-work and prior work/research in a pulmonary field
Microsoft Office (Excel, Powerpoint, Word)
Data analysis programs (e.g. Graphpad Prism, MATLAB)
Image analysis tools (e.g. ImageJ)
Coding languages (e.g. Python, C++, R)

Responsibilities

Conduct and assist in research & development efforts to develop novel cell- and tissue-based products for treating pulmonary hypertension and other lung diseases.
Complete a focused research project to address a question that is relevant to the development of a cell- or tissue-based product for the treatment of lung disease(s).
Generate data that addresses an insightful question and produce summary conclusions and report(s) to document the outcomes of experimental testing.
Present data to management, team leaders, and research staff during internal review meetings.
Make a final presentation of project findings.