Senior Scientist, Respiratory Discovery

About the role

The Senior Scientist will join the Respiratory Biology Discovery group and contribute to target identification, translational biology, and mechanism-of-action studies supporting early discovery programs in chronic lung diseases, including COPD, bronchiectasis, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, and inflammatory airway diseases.

Responsibilities

• Design, execute, and interpret in vitro and ex vivo studies to support respiratory target validation and translational biology programs
• Develop and apply human-relevant experimental systems, including primary airway epithelial cultures, air-liquid interface (ALI) models, immune cell assays, and co-culture platforms
• Generate mechanistic and disease-relevant datasets using molecular, cellular, imaging, and biomarker-based approaches
• Apply imaging techniques, including immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence (IF), and high-content imaging, with image-based analysis to interrogate epithelial and inflammatory biology
• Conduct flow cytometry/FACS-based immune and cellular phenotyping studies
• Support translational biomarker discovery and validation using multiplex immunoassay platforms (e.g., Meso Scale Discovery, Luminex, Olink)
• Conduct molecular and cellular biology assays, including cell culture, PBMC isolation, PCR/qPCR, nucleic acid extraction, protein detection, and functional cellular assays
• Characterize disease-relevant biological pathways in chronic lung diseases, including inflammatory, epithelial, fibrotic, and immune mechanisms
• Generate reproducible, high-quality datasets to inform project decisions, translational hypotheses, and program progression
• Communicate scientific findings effectively through presentations, data reviews, and written reports
• Collaborate closely across biology, pharmacology, DMPK, and translational/clinical functions within a matrixed discovery environment

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's (with 7+ years), Master's (with 4+ years) or Ph.D. in biology, immunology, pharmacology, physiology, pulmonary biology or related discipline and relevant experience
• Required Experience and Skills:
  • Demonstrated expertise in primary human cell culture systems, particularly airway epithelial biology and/or air-liquid interface (ALI) cultures
  • Strong hands-on wet lab experience in molecular and cellular biology techniques
  • Experience with flow cytometry/FACS and multiplex biomarker platforms (e.g., Meso Scale Discovery, Luminex, Olink, AlphaLISA)
  • Expertise in imaging-based approaches, including immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence (IF), immunocytochemistry (ICC), histology, and image analysis
  • Solid understanding of respiratory disease biology, including inflammatory and epithelial mechanisms relevant to chronic lung diseases
  • Solid written and verbal scientific communication skills with ability to present and discuss data in cross-functional settings
• Preferred Experience and Skills:
  • Prior experience in respiratory drug discovery and translational research environments
  • Experience with immune-epithelial co-culture systems and/or macrophage biology
  • Familiarity with transcriptomic datasets, including bulk or single-cell RNA sequencing
  • Experience with barrier function assays (TEER), live-cell imaging, or spatial biology approaches