Research Associate-Antibody Discovery Laboratory

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

About The Position

The Research Associate will support antibody discovery efforts utilizing phage display and yeast surface display platforms for the identification and screening of monoclonal antibodies. This role requires hands-on expertise in molecular biology, microbial culture, high-throughput screening workflows, and data analysis. The successful candidate will execute end-to-end discovery campaigns, including phage panning, FACS-based yeast selection, clone identification, and downstream characterization, while maintaining rigorous documentation and quality standards. This position offers the opportunity to directly contribute to therapeutic antibody discovery programs advancing toward preclinical development. The pay range for the Research Associate is $62,514 - $78,846 annually which includes a comprehensive benefits package. The listed pay range reflects the range of potential compensation for this role. The actual offer may vary based on qualifications, skills, and experience.

Requirements

Master’s degree and the equivalent of eighteen (18) months of full-time professional research experience in a laboratory, clinical or scientific research environment; or
Bachelor’s degree and the equivalent of thirty (30) months of full-time professional research experience in a laboratory, clinical or scientific research environment.
NOTE: Degrees must be conferred by an accredited school, college, or university, or by an institution recognized by Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and/or Health Research Incorporated as adhering to acceptable educational standards.

Nice To Haves

Experience with antibody engineering or affinity maturation strategies.
Familiarity with next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis workflows.
Experience with binding kinetics platforms (e.g., SPR, BLI).
Demonstrated technical rigor and attention to detail
Strong analytical problem-solving skills
Excellent documentation and data integrity practices
Effective written and verbal communication
Collaborative team-oriented mindset

Responsibilities

Perform biopanning and selection campaigns using phage display libraries (e.g., Nanobody, scFv formats).
Subclone phage selection outputs into yeast display vectors (PCR amplification, restriction/ligation or Gibson cloning, transformation, plasmid preparation, electroporation)
Conduct yeast surface display screening, including FACS-based enrichment and analysis workflows.
Design and execute screening assays (ELISA, flow cytometry, binding assays).
Prepare samples for Sanger sequencing and next-generation sequencing (NGS).
Analyze antibody sequences for diversity, enrichment trends, and developability features.
Maintain, expand, and quality-control antibody libraries.
Express and purify antibody fragments and recombinant proteins in bacterial systems.
Support downstream characterization including binding kinetics (e.g., SPR/BLI), stability, and functional assays.
Perform affinity ranking and specificity assessment of antibody clones.
Maintain detailed electronic laboratory experimental records.
Analyze screening and sequencing data using appropriate software tools.
Prepare summaries, reports, and presentations for internal meetings.
Maintain inventory of reagents and consumables.
Ensure compliance with biosafety and laboratory safety regulations.
Troubleshoot experimental workflows and optimize protocols as needed.