Principal Associate Scientist, Biology

Parabilis Medicines•Cambridge, MA

1d•$108,000 - $128,000

About The Position

Parabilis Medicines is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to creating extraordinary medicines for patients with serious diseases by unlocking biologically important targets long considered undruggable. The company has pioneered a new class of alpha-helical peptides – Helicons™ – capable of modulating intracellular proteins that have historically been beyond the reach of conventional medicines. The company’s lead investigational medicine, zolucatetide, is the first and only direct inhibitor of the β-catenin:TCF interaction, a central node in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway that has eluded drug developers for decades. Zolucatetide is being evaluated in the clinic across multiple Wnt/β-catenin-driven diseases, including desmoid tumors, familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and a range of other solid tumor indications. Beyond zolucatetide, Parabilis is advancing additional Helicon-based programs focused on other challenging targets where we believe our medicines could have life-altering impact. We are seeking a highly motivated, hands-on Principal Associate Scientist to join our Biology team and support the advancement of pre-clinical oncology programs. This scientist will be a key bench-facing member of the program, designing and executing the cellular and molecular experiments to understand how Helicon candidates engage and interfere with the target; how target interference alters cancer-cell biology, and which pharmacodynamic and response biomarkers may help translate the mechanism toward development. The successful candidate will generate rigorous, decision-enabling data and provide scientifically grounded recommendations to help define translational and clinical opportunities for addressing significant unmet medical needs. Reporting to the program biology lead, the ideal candidate combines excellent experimental skills with strong mechanistic reasoning. This individual will work independently on problems of diverse scope, develop and qualify new assays, adapt published approaches to novel scientific questions, and generate high-impact biology data in a highly collaborative, fast-paced biotechnology environment.

Requirements

Ph.D. in cell biology, molecular biology, cancer biology or a related field with 8+ years of industry experience in biotechnology or pharmaceuticals, or an M.S. with 6+ years.
Substantial hands-on experience with mammalian cell biology, cell culture and quantitative cell-based pharmacology or assay development.
Demonstrated proficiency in cell and molecular biology techniques such as HTRF, AlphaLISA, CETSA, Western, Co-IP, qPCR, CyQUANT, Flow Cytometry, ELISA/MSD, Imaging, etc.
Experience using CRISPR/Cas9, RNAi, viral expression/transduction, or related genetic approaches to investigate biological mechanisms.
Experience studying determinants of drug response or resistance and developing pharmacodynamic or response-biomarker hypotheses is highly desirable.
Demonstrated ability to adapt published methods to novel scientific questions and to build working relationships with collaborators outside your own area of expertise.
Strong organizational skills and meticulous attention to detail in experimental documentation.
Collaborative mindset with a high degree of initiative, curiosity, and enthusiasm for developing revolutionary medicines.

Nice To Haves

Experience in oncology drug discovery is strongly preferred.
Familiarity with peptides, targeted protein degradation, or other therapeutic modalities beyond conventional small molecules is a plus.

Responsibilities

Independently design, optimize, execute, and troubleshoot cell-based assays to characterize and assess lead Helicons, including target engagement, potency, selectivity, mechanism of action, and differentiation opportunities.
Develop and apply cellular and molecular assays, including CETSA, AlphaLISA, HTRF, NanoBRET, cell proliferation, qPCR, ELISA/MSD, Co-IP, flow cytometry, and western blot across 2D and 3D cell models.
Develop, optimize, and qualify new assay systems and disease-relevant models—including cancer cell lines, primary cells, and 3D organoid cultures—to address questions that existing platforms cannot answer.
Investigate the biological contexts associated with sensitivity and resistance to lead Helicons and develop testable hypotheses for pharmacodynamic and response biomarkers.
Work with Translational Biology, DMPK and in vivo Pharmacology colleagues to select informative models and translate cellular findings into tissue PK/PD and biomarker studies where appropriate.
Collaborate closely with other functions within the program to generate decision-enabling biology data supporting lead optimization, development-candidate nomination and IND-enabling activities.
Present experimental results, interpretations, and recommendations clearly to project teams, the broader Biology and company organizations.
Maintain complete, timely and traceable experimental records and uphold high standards for data integrity, reproducibility and scientific transparency.