Senior Scientist - Enhanced Lung

United Therapeutics•Silver Spring, MD

32d•Onsite

About The Position

United Therapeutics (Nasdaq: UTHR) is a publicly-traded biotech company focused on developing novel pharmaceutical therapies and technologies to expand the availability of transplantable organs. The company was founded to develop treatments for rare, deadly diseases and currently has six FDA-approved therapies. Their near-term pipeline focuses on additional therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary fibrosis (PF). United Therapeutics is also working to create manufactured organs to address the shortage of available organs for transplant. The Enhanced Lung Program specifically focuses on developing novel technologies to enhance donor lung performance and improve transplant outcomes by modifying and optimizing lungs outside the body prior to transplantation using organ perfusion, gene therapy, and bioengineering.

Requirements

Master's Degree in molecular biology, gene therapy, virology, biomedical engineering, or related field
8+ years of related biotech/pharma industry experience with a Master's Degree or 5+ years of related biotech/pharma industry experience with a PhD
Experience with viral vector systems (AAV, LVV, AdV) or non-viral gene delivery platforms
Strong data analysis and experimental design skills
Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced translational environment
Good written and oral communication skills
Ability to work independently and in multidisciplinary teams
Strong analytical skills
Ability to mentor and motivate team members
Highly self-motivated
Ability to organize and present data

Nice To Haves

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in molecular biology, gene therapy, virology, biomedical engineering, or related field
Experience with lung biology, transplant models, or EVLP
Industry experience
Experience working with human tissue

Responsibilities

Drive gene modification strategies for engineered and donor lungs.
Design, run, and translate experiments related to EVLP systems, vector delivery, and functional validation.
Collaborate across disciplines and mentor growing scientists.
Play a critical role in bringing bold ideas into execution.
Advance gene modification strategies for ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) and enhanced lung development.
Design, execute, and interpret studies focused on vector delivery, gene editing, transduction optimization, and translational functional validation within engineered or donor lungs.
Plan and oversee gene delivery strategies (AAV, lentiviral, adenoviral, mRNA/LNP, or other platforms) in lung tissue models and EVLP systems.
Optimize transduction efficiency, durability of expression, and safety profiles.
Support preclinical large-animal studies, including experimental design and data analysis.
Develop and validate molecular and functional assays (qPCR, ddPCR, ELISA, flow cytometry, multiplex assays, etc.).
Collaborate cross-functionally with device, manufacturing, analytical, and regulatory teams.
Contribute to IND-enabling studies and regulatory documentation.
Mentor junior scientists and research associates.
Contribute to publications and patent submissions, protocols, abstracts, posters, etc. and other publication development.
Present data internally and externally.
Assist with EVLP.