Senior Scientist, Innovative Lentiviral Vector Design (BS/MS)

6000! This is the number of associates in the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR). This division is the innovation engine of Novartis, focusing on new technologies that have the potential to help produce therapeutic breakthroughs for patients. The Biotherapeutic Engineering and Gene Therapy (BEGT) group is a part of the NIBR Biologics Center (NBC). BEGT drives a diverse portfolio of modalities including therapeutic proteins, multi-specific antibodies, CAR-T, RNA therapeutics, AAV and lentiviral vectors. The NBC group works collaboratively with disease area groups to broaden the use of biologics in therapeutic applications. <br><br>We are seeking a highly motivated, collaborative and curious Senior Scientist to join our lentivirus team within NIBR Biologics Center (NBC). We are dedicated to innovating the delivery of lentiviral gene therapies for multiple therapeutic areas including cancer and sickle cell disease. The discoveries we make can contribute directly to improving efficacy and accessibility of gene therapies to patients. As a key contributor in a dynamic, multidisciplinary team, you will be involved in the design and innovation of lentiviral vectors to overcome challenges in viral vector production and therapeutic gene delivery, efficacy, and safety.<br><br>What you’ll be doing: Your responsibilities include, but are not limited to:<br>• Use molecular biology and virology expertise to design and test lentiviral vector (LVV) and gene expression plasmids for our gene therapy platform with minimal supervision<br>• Works to evaluate and implement innovative approaches to optimize viral vectors backbones, transgenes, promoters and other elements to support our gene therapy pipeline programs<br>• Perform hands-on execution of mammalian cell culture experiments in BSL2 environment including DNA plasmid transfection and small-scale virus production, purification and transduction of cell lines<br>• Collaborate with a cross-functional and global LVV team as well as colleagues in various disease areas to troubleshoot and optimize LVV production and performance both in vitro and vivo<br>• Present experimental designs, protocols, results and interpretations to a varied audience<br>• Maintain familiarity with current scientific literature and techniques in the field of lentivirus engineering<br>• Demonstrate good organizational and communication skills. Expected to be accountable for effectiveness and timelines of completion of project goals<br><br>This position will be located at the Cambridge, MA site and will not have the ability to be located remotely. This position will require 0% travel as defined by the business (domestic and/ or international).<br><br>[#video#https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggbnzRY9z8w{#400,300#}#/video#]